About Ken Brown Wines
Ken Brown is one of the true architects of Santa Barbara County wine. He built his reputation as the founding winemaker at Zaca Mesa, where future legends like Jim Clendenen, Bob Lindquist, Lane Tanner and Adam Tolmach came up under him, then founded Byron in 1984, sold it to the Mondavi family in 1990 and stayed on as winemaker until 2005.
His own label, launched in 2003, is the distillation of that career: very small lots of Pinot Noir, most 250 cases or less and about 2,000 cases in total, from hand-selected blocks in the Sta. Rita Hills' finest vineyards, among them Sanford and Benedict, Radian, Rita's Crown, La Encantada and Rancho La Vina, plus limited Chardonnay, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc. Ken and his wife Deborah still run the operation personally.
The tasting room sits at the gateway to the Sta. Rita Hills on Highway 246 in Buellton, decorated with Randy Leffingwell's striking photographs of the very vineyards in the glass. It is open Thursday through Monday from 11 to 4, with the tasting fee waived on a modest purchase and reservations needed only for groups of eight or more.
A Santa Barbara pioneer's own small-lot Pinot project, poured at the gateway to the Sta. Rita Hills in Buellton.
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A county founding fatherZaca Mesa's first winemaker and Byron's founder, mentor to Clendenen, Lindquist and Tanner.
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Tiny, top-site PinotsLots of 250 cases or less from Sanford and Benedict, Radian, Rita's Crown and La Encantada.
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Still owner-runKen and Deborah Brown personally run the roughly 2,000-case operation.
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An easy, honest visitThursday to Monday hours on Highway 246, fee waived with purchase, walk-ins welcome.
"A Santa Barbara pioneer's own small-lot Pinot project, poured at the gateway to the Sta. Rita Hills in Buellton."
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Wines change with each vintage
For an accurate list of current-release wines and library bottlings from Ken Brown Wines, please check the winery'Sta. Rita Hills producers typically rotate vintages and offerings seasonally.
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