Paul Wilkins

Paul wilkins

Winemaker

Paul and I were college buddies at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  We got to know one another while we were part of a small group of wine geeks called Vines to Wines. We took field trips to visit Central Coast legends such as Kenneth Volk and Richard Sanford while every other college student was out drinking beer (Okay, we had our fair share of that too.)  I was planting my vineyard while attending Cal Poly and Paul landed a job with John Alban in the Edna Valley and was eventually offered the assistant winemaker position.  Paul worked with Alban for eight years and we lost contact with each other.  In 2005 Paul left Alban for winemaking consulting positions, one of which was with Auggie Hug, who asked him to try and source fruit from my vineyard, Rancho Ontiveros.
 
I remember how awestruck Paul was with the quality of the fruit when he visited my vineyard.  I'd forgotten how insane we both were about wine.  I explained what I loved about Burgundy to him and he told me all about the Rhone.  But I really saw Paul's fanaticism when he listened to what I wanted out of my vineyard and responded at a PhD level with nuanced details about how to approach making a wine that fulfilled my vision.  He is a risk-taker willing to hang his reputation out there to make something daring and stylized.  After that communication we decided to develop a partnership in a project combining Native⁹ Pinot Noir from Rancho Ontiveros and Alta Maria Pinot Noir, Syrah and Grenache from prime Central Coast vineyards. It may seem counterintuitive to let a Rhone winemaker at your Pinot but Paul understands the fine balancing act of winemaking no matter what the varietal. Native⁹ has a style all its own, thanks to Paul, and nothing pleases me more than to see people identify it in a blind tasting.  Paul is a bold thinker, a smart guy, and an amazing palate.  We didn’t test the water with one toe - we jumped in.