Reclamación
Reclaiming the Story of California Wine
Founded in Sonoma Valley in 2022, Reclamación Wines is the work of Mexican-American owner and winemaker David Salazar — a small-production California wine project rooted in place, heritage, farming, and a new generation of winery ownership.
The name Reclamación means reclamation. For Salazar, it speaks to bringing recognition and ownership to a community whose agricultural knowledge and labor have helped shape California wine for generations.
The wines carry that philosophy into the cellar: thoughtfully sourced California fruit, small-lot production, restrained winemaking, and an emphasis on allowing vineyard and varietal character to remain at the center of the bottle.
Raised Among the Vines
David Salazar grew up in San Lucas in southern Monterey County, surrounded by vineyards near the Santa Lucia Highlands.
His father managed a 3,000-acre vineyard, giving Salazar an unusually close view of viticulture from an early age. He learned about the vineyard not simply as scenery, but as agriculture — observing the pruning, irrigation, seasonal decisions, harvest work, and accumulated knowledge required to grow the fruit behind California wine.
It was here that Salazar developed his earliest understanding of wine: long before a bottle reaches a cellar or tasting room, its character begins with the people who know how to farm the vineyard.
From Vineyard to Winemaker
Salazar went on to study viticulture and enology at Fresno State, formally building upon the agricultural knowledge that surrounded his childhood.
His winemaking career would take him across California, including experience at Skywalker Ranch, and eventually across the Pacific to New Zealand, broadening his understanding of vineyards, varieties, and different approaches to winemaking.
When he returned to California, he brought those experiences together with a larger idea: to make expressive California wine while giving greater visibilit
