Meet Wynne Solomon, the Winemaker for Peake Ranch Vineyards in California’s Santa Barbara County. Wynne works on crafting premium regional wines that constantly garner above 90 points from international critics. She makes wines using both science and art from three estate properties and blends wines to perfection from over 100 different vineyard blocks and believes Santa Barbara County California is the wild west of wine.
Famous for its debut in Sideways, Santa Barbara County is well known for grape varieties like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Wynne Solomon joined the Peake Ranch team in 2018 and believes in precision winemaking. She loves the art of blending and works on constantly improving her palate. We had the chance to chat with Solomon about the Santa Barbara County wine region and the wines from Peake Ranch.
About the founders of Peake Ranch
Peake Ranch was founded by John and Gill Wagner. Their love affair with the Santa Barbara wine scene began in 2012, captivated by the beautiful countryside, the people and the wines coming from the region, they decided to seize the opportunity and make Peake Ranch their own. John attended UCLA and completed a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Physics and pursued a career in finance. He then completed the UC Davis Certificate in Winemaking. Gill completed the first section of the UC Davis Certificate in Winemaking and was then defeated by the chemistry. Not only is this dynamic duo great in wine, but the two also put philanthropy first and give back in many ways. Gill serves on several not-for-profit boards, the most important relating to the homeless situation in Los Angeles and the two also support local charities and many causes.
About the Santa Barbara County wine region
Santa Barbara County boasts a rich history of winemaking, with grape growing dating back over 200 years, pre-dating California’s statehood. Santa Barbara County has east-west mountain ranges different from the usual north-south orientation, helping to create many micro-climates heavily influenced by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and each defined by unique soils.
Solomon truly appreciates Santa Barbara County. Santa Barbara is a younger wine region offering many microclimates to produce premium wines. “The whole Santa Ynez Valley AVA is a world of opportunity in wine. There is less pretension and room for exploration and experimentation, unlike any other high-quality wine region,” she says. A unique valley with cooler temperatures on the coast and warmer inland temperatures offers versatility in grape growing.
She loves to make wine in this area of California and uses science and art to craft her wines. “Vineyards are alive and dynamic each year,” Solomon shares. “The winery currently analyzes the fruit from every block prior to harvest. This way we can use data to help confirm that we are sourcing from only the best blocks in our ranches. I think trying to learn and understand why different vintages create such different wines is the most interesting aspect of vineyards.”
About Sideways
Santa Barbara was made famous for the Pinot Noir grape in the Hollywood film ‘Sideways’ that was made in 2004. The original tasting room is now part of the Peake Ranch property. Solomon says that over the years her palate has changed from upside down, to sideways, to backwards. “A huge part of making wine is working on your palate, so I am open to all the changes that occur over a lifetime of tasting wine. I often get focused on certain regions, styles, and grape varieties in my personal tasting and run with that. The largest shift I’ve seen is a focus on texture over all other components of wine.”
Each and every vintage offers a chance for her to learn more, grow her education and develop her palate. “Trying to learn and understand why different vintages create such different wines is the most interesting aspect of vineyards and how they change. You spend all year growing one crop so when you have a cold spring or heat spike during harvest this changes the grapes drastically. It’s our job to understand why and learn for future vintages,” explains Solomon.
Her biggest passion is the blending process, “I love the art of blending,” she says. “It’s the most creative and calm time in the winery where you take your time to try all the different blend options you can think of and create the most amazing product – a finished wine. It’s a moment to reflect on the vintage, appreciate our team, and feel proud of the wines we work so hard on.” Miles, the main character from Sideways, alongside all wine enthusiasts, can agree that there is nothing better than tasting a wine in which purpose, place and quality combine to create perfection.
The science of winemaking
Solomon grew up in Sonoma County and earned a B.S. degree in the Wine and Viticulture program at California Polytechnic State University. She believes that winemaking is 75% science and 25% art. “Precision winemaking refers to a need to measure all aspects of wine before performing any adjustments or additions. We rely more on analysis than routine,” states Solomon.
“Vintage variation is what sets wine apart from Coca-Cola,” says Solomon. “We embrace it and make the best wines possible given any growing conditions. Fine-tuning is allowing yourself to use all the tools you have to make the best wines. Not just accepting them to be good enough. We are constantly tasting, testing, and thinking about ideas to make these wines better.
She has been fine-tuning her barrel program for years. “I’m super curious about visiting different oak forests, learning more about small cooperages, and trying to make the perfect combination of forest, toast, and cooperage paired with our wines,” shares Solomon.
She’s excited about the future of winemaking at Peake Ranch. “At the moment I’m thrilled by the challenge of making Chardonnay from John Sebastiano Vineyard. We will be releasing our first single vineyard bottling of this wine in the next year and it’s been so fun to create a new wine in our lineup,” expresses Solomon. John Sebastiano Vineyard is located on the eastern edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The raised elevation of this vineyard exposes this spot to an extra dose of the winds that the appellation is famous for. Cool nights and constant wind make for grapes that show great concentration and lend themselves to the magic of the wines created.
Above and beyond winemaking, Wynne loves rock climbing, yoga, cooking and gardening. But above all wine is her forever love “I plan to make wine forever. It’s a true joy,” she says.
Peake Ranch Wines are available in Ontario via the Gibson Family Group
