Our Story
Making Santa Ynez Home
Launched in 2016 with our first harvest Watchtower is always a work in progress. My family and I found the Santa Ynez Valley on one of the many trips up and down the coast from Los Angeles. Having spent time visiting wine regions around the world, the valley proved to be an ideal location, both close to Los Angeles but also remote in its own way.
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In July 2017 we relocated our growing family of five to live permanently in this little slice of heaven on Calzada Ave. Not only were we blessed with a serene location in the hills of the Oak Trail Estates we found a property with a few acres of tightly planted grapes. John Wright of Standing Sun Cellars planted the vineyard in 2006 and selected Rhone varietals of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.
Naturally, loving wine as we did it made sense to work with John on continuing to produce wines from the estate vineyard. Inspired by a tower John built at the edge of the property we decided to call the wine Watchtower.
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Watchtower's were built in Europe centuries ago on the edge of vineyards to house guards to watch over the harvest. While we find less need to protect our property from robbers in Santa Ynez the history and story resonated with us,
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The Santa Ynez Valley reminds me of my birthplace in South Australia. It's beauty lies in its pale yellow of a sundrenched summer and equally in its green fields in early spring. When considering how I want to make wine I realize I want it to embody this place. That's our goal at Watchtower. We hope you enjoy...