Authenticity in Wine: People, Dirt, Love. Welcome back all you wine lovers and those that search for deeper wisdom in the glass. I just returned from a long 2 week+ wine sales trip throughout the Southeast and the East Coast. In 15 ... Continue »
Happy 2018 from all of us here at J. Wilkes Wines: Budbreak is the first sign that a new vintage is emerging, and we are seeing budbreak throughout Santa Barbara County this week. There’s no denying it. Here we go again on ... Continue »
I want to believe that the day will come when Americans will have their own wine culture without relying on a French inflection. In his brilliant book, Religion: An Anthropological View, Anthony Wallace explains how a religion that develops in a conquered... Continue »
This is the Best Kind of Rain to See During Winegrape Harvest! Santa Barbara County vintages can be summed up in a single sentence: “Long, cool, consistent growing seasons punctuated by heat spikes in September and October.” There have been a few ... Continue »
Click on the photo to start your adventure with Wes and Shawnda (one of the owners of Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe). Continue »
Thanks to Vince and everyone at V is for Vino for the production! Love Wes’ education? Make sure to follow him at @weshagen @jwilkes @j.wilkes_wines and J. Wilkes Wines on Facebook and Instagram! Continue »
A wine club member emailed me today with the question in the title. My response took just enough time that I thought it would be prudent and useful to post it here for everyone to read: ACID IN WINE EXPLAINED, by Wes ... Continue »
J. Wilkes Faithful: In an ongoing attempt to keep you aware of fun events and chances to eat and drink with our winemaker, we intend to publish a list of public events that you can attend each month. July included a lot ... Continue »
Alcohol, Founding Fathers and US Presidents The Spirit of ’76 Turns Out to be Ethanol @weshagen @jwilkeswines @j.wilkes_wines (Note: This history lesson is not meant to encourage or glorify unhealthy drinking habits, instead it is a view into a different time with ... Continue »
Welcome back to Wes Hagen’s J. Wilkes Wines blog. Please make yourself comfortable and if possible pour yourself a nice glass of wine. I’m a strong believer that wine education should always be accompanied by vino in our glass. Would we study ... Continue »