Makin' it with Maren: Ink and Vine - Meet Tessa Marie Parker: Wine Maker.

Meet Tessa Marie Parker. You've probably heard of her grandfather, legendary film and television actor, Fess Parker. Well, if you didn't know, Fess Parker started his own winery after his acting career along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail, and that's what pretty much led us to Tessa.

My boyfriend and I headed up to the Los Olivos area about a year ago. He is a huge Davy Crockett fan, so we had to stop into the Fess Parker Winery nearby. Like his name, the Fess Parker Winery was huge, and accordingly packed with people waiting to sip his family's wine. Near the end of our tasting, we were offered an 2 for 1 tasting at Epiphany Wines in Los Olivos. I had been to the Epiphany tasting room before and tried some lovely wines, so I was encouraged to return again.

While we were at Epiphany, a stranger next to us recommended that we check out Tessa Marie Wines down the street - "great Sangiovese," he exclaimed. I'd never heard of Tessa Marie Wines, so we decided to give it a go. It was a quiet day, (we always like to head up to that area on "off" days like Sunday and Monday to avoid the large crowds) and when we got to the tasting room, we were the only ones there.

Behind the counter stood a beautiful blonde woman (she could've been an actress herself), with an expectant belly and a big smile. She began to pour us some extraordinary Italian varietals and we all just hit it off. I love the experience of visiting the wine rooms; tasting new pours, exchanging silly or serious adjectives and making immediate short-term friends. Some tasting rooms are better than others, and not just because of the wine. The personality behind the counter contributes greatly to one's "take away," while the wine definitely enhances it.

And that's what drew us back to Tessa Marie on our last trip. She and I had struck up a Twitter friendship and we had planned to meet up this time so I could get an interview from her. With her new baby boy brought into the world, she was once again ready to open up with her life and some great bottles of Italian wine. Her star player and all-time favorite Italian grape: Sangiovese. However, she also makes a vibrant Vermentino and her mood-expressing Coquette.

What I hadn't mentioned, is that, I didn't even learn about Tessa Marie's family lineage until almost the end our first tasting. It wasn't until long into our conversation with Tessa, that she revealed the wines she poured us were hers and told us about her family's history. While we had been suggested to hit the Parker's trail of tasting rooms, no one had mentioned they were all "related," just that they had great tasting wines.

Tessa Marie Parker made an impression on us with both her personality and her line-up of Italian wines. You won't find many tasting rooms in Los Olivos that offer the Italian grapes, so it's definitely worth checking out. To get a better story her and her wine, take a peak at my interview with Tessa last week!