Today we’d like to introduce you to Mireia Taribo.
Hi Mireia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Camins 2 Dreams is a family-owned winery founded in 2017 by the wife winemaking duo, Tara Gomez, a member of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, and Mireia Taribo, hailing from Catalunya.
Camins translates to path in Mireia’s catalan language. Camins 2 Dreams means ” the path to our dreams”
Mireia was born and raised in Catalunya, in the northeastern part of Spain. Her interest in wine started at a very young age. Growing up in Spain, wine is considered a food and was part of almost every meal. Mireia knew from a young age that she wanted to learn more about wine.
Mireia graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Barcelona, and then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology at the University of Rovira and Virgili. When she was in her last year of studies, she came to California as an intern for a harvest season, which is where she met her wife, Tara Gomez. When that harvest finished, Mireia went back to Spain. In 2008, she accepted a harvest position at Castell d’Encus, a start-up winery in the Pyrenees Mountains of Spain. She quickly earned a winemaker position and worked there until 2014. While working at Castell d’Encus, Mireia went back to school to earn her Masters in Enology, Viticulture, and Marketing of Wine. Meanwhile her relationship with Tara grew and they traveled the world and visited all the wine regions together. In 2014, Mireia moved to California and began working as a wine broker and wine consultant.
Tara’s passion for wine began when she was young and her parents used to take her wine tasting throughout the Central Coast. When she was a child she enjoyed looking at life through a microscope and it was the connection of wine to nature and science that made her want to pursue an Enology Degree.
Tara graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology from CSU Fresno. She worked for a few wineries, including Fess Parker and J. Lohr, at the same time she started her first label — Kalawashaq’ Wine Cellars (named for the village where her Chumash ancestors once lived). Tara left her job at J. Lohr Winery in 2008, and put Kalawashaq’ on hold while she went to explore the world. During that time she worked two harvests at Castell d’Encus in Spain, the same winery where her wife, Mireia was the winemaker. When Tara returned to California in 2010, her Chumash Tribe had purchased Camp 4 Vineyard and she started Kitá Wines, a small, premium winery in the Santa Ynez Valley where she was the winemaker for 12 years. Kitá Wines closed its doors in the summer of 2022. She is the first recognized Native American winemaker in the country, and brings a unique perspective to her winemaking style.
Tara’s most recent accolades include “2021 Winemaker of the Year” by VinePair, “2022 Winemaker of the Year” by The Hue Society, and “2023 Future 40 Honoree” by Wine Enthusiast. She is honored and humbled to receive such prestigious awards back to back and see all of her hard work, dedication, and perseverance not just seen, but celebrated.
In 2017 Camins 2 Dreams was born out of their shared love for wine, winemaking, and each other.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have definitely been significant challenges along the way, especially when it comes to selling our wines in a market that has experienced considerable volatility in recent years. Only six months after our initial release, we were forced to navigate the shutdowns brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, most wineries where selling more wine because people was staying at home and drinking more, but we were new to the market and didn’t have a follow up yet.
Now we are facing additional obstacles, including being pulled out of important export markets like Canada due to the tariff disputes introduced by the new administration.
At the same time, Tasting room visits — once a reliable cornerstone of direct-to-consumer sales — have steadily declined year after year, and with them, overall tasting room revenue.
Despite these challenges, we have continued working to stay resilient and adaptable, finding ways to keep the winery moving forward while remaining committed to the quality of our wines and the relationships we have built with our customers and partners.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Camins 2 Dreams ?
At Camins 2 Dreams we craft wines that celebrate our diverse heritage while embracing a philosophy of minimal intervention -fermented with natural yeast and low levels of SO2. Committed to showcasing the distinct character of each vineyard, we exclusively partner with organic, biodynamic, and regenerative vineyards in San Benito and Santa Barbaras County, with a focus in Sta, Rita Hills AVA, all of which uphold a deep respect for the land and its workers.
We started with only 90 cases of Syrah in 2017, now we are producing around 1200 cases with 12 different wines. Our focus is still cool climate Syrah and Grüner Veltliner for Sta Rita Hills but we also produce more underrepresented varieties like Cabernet Pfeffer, Mencía or Aligoté.
We have a Tasting Room in Lompoc where our customers can explore the different regions of Santa Barbara County as well as San Benito county through our wines. We have created a space where everyone is welcome and we are proud to support our community by donating a percentage of sales of specific wines to different non-profits through the year. Giving back has always been an important part of who we are, and we believe that supporting the people and organizations around us helps strengthen the community that has supported us from the beginning.
We also have our doors open to newer generations of winemakers, whether it’s mentoring them and helping them navigate the difficulties of this industry as they start, or offering guidance, resources, and a shared space to craft their wines.
Any big plans?
We want to continue growing and expanding, right now we are focusing in opening new markets to us inside and outside the US.
Pricing:
- Wine bottles are between $30-$50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.camins2dreams.com
- Instagram: @camins2dreams
- Facebook: @camins2dreams
