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J. Wilkes
SANTA MARIA
The story of J.Wilkes begins in one of the oldest appellations in the United
States: Santa Maria Valley. Jefferson (Jeff) Wilkes passionately promoted this
area in the early 1980s, defining the region that is now known as the heart
and soul of Santa Barbara County winemaking. After walking the rows of
prestigious Estate Vineyards for twenty years, selling fruit to some of the
most famous wineries in California, Jeff launched his namesake label in 2001
and made his final wine in 2010 before his untimely passing that same year.
Inspired by Jeff's vision and moved by their friendship, the Miller family
decided to continue the J. Wilkes label as a tribute to Jeff's undying passion
for the Santa Maria wine region. Today, Wes Hagen is the J. Wilkes winemaker,
a role that was a natural fit after making wine side by side in the same facility
with Jeff for several harvests. The two immediately hit it off and shared a
common desire to showcase the Santa Maria Valley.
The brand is dedicated to producing wines from some of the most expressive
AVAs in the Central Coast and focuses on the region, the diversity, and typicity
of soils. The ultimate goal is to craft wines from the highest quality fruit and
let the terroir shine, unfiltered, through the wine.
Santa Maria Valley is a cool-climate wine production area famed for its quality
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since the 1970s. The low-nutrient sandy soil,
strong Pacific winds and fog, and sun-kissed slopes of the Tepusquet Bench
come together to produce small vines with limited vigor, tiny clusters, and a
FACING PAGE: Santa Maria's unique transverse valley acts
as a funnel, channeling in cool maritime influences and
depositing them throughout the wide valley.
Photograph by Adam Felde
TOP LEFT: Jeff Wilkes, the original founder and namesake for
the J. Wilkes label.
TOP RIGHT: Our signature Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir is
ready for tasting.
Photographs courtesy of J Wilkes
SAN LUIS OBSIPO COUNTY
