Society & Culture
As the Consulting Winemaker and Brand Ambassador for Miller Family Wines, Wes Hagen talks about wine for a living. And if I had a day to spend tasting and learning about wine, Wes would be the first person I’d choose to join me. He’d wax eloquent about coaxing soil into the deliciousness that is wine and postulate that without wine there would be no democracy. He is perhaps the most articulate and persuasive advocate for the exceptional wines that come out of the Santa Barbara County.A former teacher, Wes loves to share the history of the vineyards and founding winemakers and would be the first to point out the many local heroes in the Santa Barbara County wine industry. He has solidified his own legacy by writing the petitions that created four of the seven American Viticulture Areas recognized by the federal government: Santa Rita Hills, Happy Canyon, Ballard Canyon, and the newly created Alisos Canyon AVA. He is quite literally putting Santa Barbara County wines on the map, and in the process, creating publicity and veneration for the unique wines created in our beautiful community. I first met Wes when my then-husband, Noah Rowles, hired him to write the petition of what would become the Alisos Canyon AVA. Noah had just purchased a ranch in Los Alamos that we would call Dovecote, which was home to the 30-year-old historic Thompson Vineyard. Five years later, the Alisos Canyon AVA makes its debut this week just as Noah is releasing the first wines he made as full-time winemaker at Dovecote.In our wide-ranging conversation, Wes and I reflect on the process of creating the AVA. We also discuss how Wes became the winemaker and vineyard manager at Clos Pepe, how he shaped Santa Barbara county’s maps as its most prolific AVA petition writer, how the wine industry benefits our community and how it can co-exist with the cannabis industry, and why wines from this region stand up to any on the world’s stage. His passion for wine is contagious and I have no doubt our conversation will leave you yearning for a glass of crisp pinot blanc on this hot summer day. Dovecote Estate is featured in Small Business Spotlight. Mention this podcast to receive 20% off your tasting fee. Tasting is available by appointment only.Also mentioned in this episode: Day Drinking with Wes Hagen YouTube show, Miller Family Wines, J. Wilkes Wines, The Wine Bible, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Richard Sanford, Clos Pepe, Adam Tolmac of Ojai Vineyard, Tom Wark’s Fermentation blog, Arthur George on The Myth of Wine, Will Castello’s Somm School.