For over 30 years Bryan Babcock has been perfecting his craft at his family owned winery and vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. Over the years, his passion for fundamentals has led to a winemaking approach that can be described as classical and provocative at the same time. In effect, Bryan has become a radical for volume, expression and balance in his wines.
His offerings include an entire portfolio of stunning “Terroir Extraordinaire” Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. At the winery, one can also find beautiful estate grown renderings of Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc, along with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon that are selected from some of Santa Barbara County’s most stunning vineyards.
In his farming, Bryan’s passion has led to a revolutionary new system that he calls Canopy Pivoting. This new approach has opened the door to a whole new realm of possibilities in his vineyard. For starters, it is a complete inversion of the most commonly held approach. Instead of forcing the vines to grow up into a trellis, Bryan’s system is gravity assisted, offering the vine canopies to spill down naturally, while still allowing for the development of perfect cluster symmetry in the fruiting zone. Leave it to Bryan to describe a new idea as “a cathartic release from the status quo.”
With the recent addition of Bryan’s wife Lisa to the retail side of the winery, the business finally has a marketing mojo that is commensurate with the passion that goes into the winemaking. Lisa, who has spent many years in the fashion industry, has completely converted one of their hanger sized warehouses, that used to be full of barrels, into one of the most eclectic and mesmerizing tasting room atmospheres in the wine world. An uncanny mix of color, sound, vintage, midcentury modern, world class wine, and soul; there is nothing else quite like it.
