Our Story

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Babcock Winery & Vineyards was established in 1978 when my mom & dad, Mona & Walter, purchased a 110 acre property with lima beans & fallow land in the countryside in the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley.

At the time, they were in the restaurant business, the proprietors of the legendary Walt’s Wharf in Seal Beach.
Over the years, my dad practiced a number of crafts, making him a full-fledged Renaissance guy. At the time of establishing the vineyard, he was also a dentist & a commercial fisherman.

Shortly after the purchase of the property, they planted a modest 20 acres to Gewurtraminer, Sauvignon Blanc & Chardonnay. No reds :(  

In 1984, prompted by promising results, they decided it was time to seize the opportunity to start producing wines commercially.  

While they were setting the stage for a small fledgling winery, I decided to cut short my graduate studies in enology & join them. After spending two years of graduate studies at UC Davis studying viticulture & enology, I was to return to complete a thesis for my degree. Instead, I started crushing Gewürztraminer in late August & forgot about school altogether.

Fortunately for me, there was a tight little group of already established winemakers, pioneers really, who were generously answering my questions & encouraging me to push forward. It was like having a synergy of mentors, making my first few years a great time to be alive & be making wine in Santa Barbara County.

 

Ever since then, my career has felt like a complete immersion into the development of the Santa Barbara County wine industry. The first ten years felt like the decade of trying to find which end was up. The second ten years was the decade of trying to figure out which road to take. After that I started to feel pretty good about my craft & the fact that this is who I am & what I do.

In the early 2000's, I led a team of passionate wine growers across local valleys & hillsides for the purpose of identifying & proposing the initial boundary lines for a new Appellation. In 2001, those boundaries were adopted, & the Sta. Rita Hills AVA was born. 

While at one time I was farming 80 acres, due to the very destructive, and with no proven remedy, Pierce's disease, now I am down to one acre of vines! While 30 years ago myself & my dad would have shrugged our shoulders and just started replanting, now I look at this moment as a time for pause & contemplation. Until I have a remedy for Pierce’s, this is all an opportunity to move into some different directions. With my farming, I am treating my one remaining acre as a dynamic, spontaneously developing field laboratory where my emphasis is on the study of harmony. Out of this lab has sprung a radical, new farming method that I call “Integrated Nature”, that seamlessly weaves the vines with the forces of nature.

In the open areas where vineyards once flourished, I am studying my other new concept, AGRISTHETICS, which is the treatment of an agricultural domain as a piece of art. In pursuing this vision, I have been focused on the reforestation of the perimeter of our property, & the design of various butterfly habitats & sanctuaries along the way. 

One day you will be able to park your car under the shade of thousands of oak trees.

About 10 years ago, my wife Lisa, formerly a dynamic executive in the fashion industry envisioned & created a wine savoring atmosphere that is difficult to capture in words.

What used to be a warehouse full of barrels, is a 5,000 square foot canvas where Lisa is simply testing the limits of soul. It’s a mid-century modern meets industrial chic fusion of art, antiques, vinyl, vintage, fashion & more, all in a room that is filled with music, laughter, great wine, picnic fare, & exceptional service. For me the room pushes the limits of how cool an atmosphere can be. It doesn’t really do it justice to call it a tasting room, as it’s really a fusion of creativity that encompasses more than just wine.

To read more about Lisa & the Soulstruck Vintage story, click here.

Our daughter Chloe has recently graduated from college and is working for us full time- doing everything from social media, web design and assistant buying. She has also created a variety of our labels, including Until Venus, 50 Bricks, & Eye of the Beholder. Our son Sean has his own career going in Los Angeles, but as we are a tight family, he is always around to give us love, laughter, and constructive criticism when asked.