“I can’t imagine running a vineyard any other way. Everything we make has a soul. Everything has a why.”
Today’s guest is Pete Stolpman, the second-generation force behind Stolpman Vineyards in Ballard Canyon, Santa Barbara County—where stewardship of land and people come together to define a new kind of California winegrowing.
In this episode, Pete joins Skurnik’s USA Portfolio Ambassador, Jamie Schwartz, to talk about building a legacy of inclusion, elevating vineyard work to a noble craft, and making wines that are as purposeful as they are fun to share.
00:00 ‘La Cuadrilla’ and dignified labor
07:59 The origin of Stolpman Vineyards
13:30 Ruben Solorzano
24:50 “A wine for everyone”
28:05 “Natural, not natty”
29:31 Vineyard varietal breakdown
31:37 Doing a lot and doing it right
The wines from this episode
- Practicing Organic
- 50% Syrah, 20% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre,15% Sangiovese
- 70% Estate fruit from Stolpman Vineyards, 30% from Ruben Solarzano’s vineyards in Santa Barbara County
- 20% whole-cluster
- Native yeast fermentation in concrete fermenting tanks for an average of 22 days
- Aged 9 months in 500L neutral French vache forest Ermitage puncheons
- 12,900 cases produced
- 14% abv
