Producer DescriptionBabcock Vineyards was established in 1978 when Mona and Walter Babcock purchased a 110 acre property on Highway 246 between Lompoc and Buellton in the western Santa Ynez Valley. At the time, the Babcocks were in the restaurant business, as they are to this day, being the proprietors of the legendary Walt's Wharf in Seal Beach California. Over the years Walter practiced a number of crafts, making him a full-fledged Renaissance guy. At the time of establishing the vineyard, he was also a dentist and a commercial fisherman. Shortly after the purchase of their property, the Babcocks planted a modest 20 acres to such varieties as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. In 1983, after building a small garage and purchasing a few wine barrels, they took a whack at their first experimental vintage. That year, they also delivered small batches of fruit to a few of the more notable winemakers in the area. While Rick Longoria and Fred Brander made compelling Sauvignon Blancs, Jim Clendenen at Au Bon Climat produced a stunning Chardonnay.Prompted by the promising results, Walt and Mona decided it was time to seize the opportunity to produce commercial wines. While they were setting the stage for a small fledgling winery, their son, Bryan, decided to cut short his graduate school studies and join them. In 1982 Bryan was having trouble getting accepted to the business schools of his choice. With Harvard, Stanford and Wharton having tossed his modest undergraduate credentials into the trash, Bryan felt it best to check out "the wine thing" with mom and dad. As a result, he took majors in biology and chemistry from Occidental College and applied to UC Davis to start a master's in enology. After spending two years on course work, he was supposed to return to Davis to put together a thesis for his degree in the fall of 1984. Says Bryan, "I started crushing Gewurztraminer that September and forgot about school altogether." Fortunately, his studies primed him for his first harvest, as he was awarded gold medals at the L.A. and Orange County Fairs for his 1984 Estate Grown Sauvignon Blanc. Interestingly, one of Bryan's more memorable early career moments was being invited to lecture the business students at Wharton a few years later on the in's and out's of the wine industry.Still family-owned and operated, Babcock Winery and Vineyards is a focused 10,000-case winery with 65 acres currently planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Gris. Experimental varieties such as Albarino, Sangiovese, and Tempranillo have already come and gone. Bryans' projects these days include Chenin Blanc as well as the development of a new in-house clone of Pinto Noir, Psi Clone. Another compelling development for Bryan is the TTB's relatively recent promotion of the American Viticultural Appellation, Sta. Rita Hills. The Babcock's winery and vineyard is in the heart of the appellation, which is now considered by wine aficionados to be among the greatest regions in the world for the growing of Pinot Noir.