The story of Byron Winery first began in 1964 when a man named Uriel J. Nielson decided he would attempt to plant the very first commercial vineyard in Santa Barbara County. Despite plenty of sound advice suggesting this area was too cold for viticulture Uriel planted his vineyard on a gradual south-facing slope on the northern edge of the Santa Maria bench. While it wasn't an easy undertaking Uriel's vineyard not only survived but thrived, and would serve to inspire many daring growers to soon follow suit. Today this scenic bench is planted out to thousands of acres of vineyards and provides source material for some of the best cool climate wines produced in the entire state of California.
By the time Uriel's vineyard was already well established another man named Byron Kent Brown burst onto the Santa Barbara wine scene. In 1977 after graduating college with a degree in viticulture and enology Ken, as he prefers to be called, began his career as the founding winemaker for Zaca Mesa Winery. Ken achieved tremendous success at Zaca Mesa and would go onto start his own winery in 1984, which he aptly named Byron Winery. Given Ken's focus on producing high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Uriel's Vineyard was of great interest to him, and in 1989 Byron Winery officially purchased the Nielson Vineyard to become their estate property and the eventual home of their production facility.
After ultimately selling control of Byron Winery to the Mondavi family but staying on as head winemaker Ken Brown left Byron in 2003 to pursue other projects. He handed the winemaking keys over to Jonathan Nagy, a young Santa Barbara local and UC Davis graduate, who first joined the team in 2001 and would be promoted to head winemaker just two years later. Jonathan remained on as winemaker when Jackson Family Wines purchased Byron in 2006, and he still holds the position to this day. Byron Winery currently operates out of a gorgeous state-of-the-art facility built right in the heart of the Nielson Vineyard and we consider ourselves fortunate to have recently gotten the opportunity to tour this immaculate property with Jonathan Nagy himself as our guide.
The weather on the morning of our Byron Winery appointment was cold, intensely foggy, and quite eerie - which actually is the norm at this cool coastal estate. When we arrived and met up with Jonathan we decided that since visibility outside was so poor we would begin with a tour of the winery facility first, and it turned out to be the perfect plan. As Jonathan guided us through the brilliantly designed modern winemaking quarters - showing and chatting with us about equipment and winemaking technique - the sun was slowly burning its way through the fog and turning the bleak morning into a gorgeous sunny afternoon. By the time we finished our jaunt around the facility and sat down to taste through a lineup of Byron Wines the clouds had miraculously almost completely disappeared.
While its focus has gradually evolved throughout the years Byron Winery currently specializes in producing high-end single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay using grapes sourced from the best vineyard sites in Santa Barbara County. Only about 2000 cases each year are bottled under the Byron label, which is broken down into a lineup of extremely small production wines of as little as 50 cases each. Jonathan graciously guided us through a wonderful selection of 8 wines - 2 Chardonnays and 6 Pinot Noirs - so that we could get a better feel for the style of Byron Winery and see how these wines express their distinct coastal California terroir.
Immediately we became extraordinarily impressed by each of the selections Jonathan poured for us. Jonathan and the Byron team do an amazing job at letting each vineyard site speak in its own voice, and the wide range of unique character traits displayed in each bottle blew us away. From the dark-fruited density of the Nielson Vineyard Pinot Noir, which comes from a slightly warmer microclimate just east of the winery, to the delicate yet intense aromatics of the hillside old vine Bien Nacido Pinot Noir, each wine we tasted almost seemed more different than alike. This is a major testament to the winemaking skill of Jonathan, and we were struck by his ability to avoid overly manipulating these wines to achieve a homogenous style while instead allowing each to shine in its own distinct and enchanting way. Byron Winery is creating some of the most authentic and well made Pinot Noir in all of Santa Barbara County, staying true to the vision Ken Brown first realized some 35 years ago.
After a fantastic time tasting through some delicious wines the sun was out in full force and it was finally our moment to get out into the vines. Jonathan led us to one of his favorite blocks of the Nielson Vineyard; a picturesque mid-slope section of the property that happens to sit on a particularly unique plot of soil. This block directly abuts the San Rafael Mountains to the north and the dirt beneath these vines is dramatically different than the rest of the vineyard. While most of the Nielson Vineyard sits on extremely sandy soils, perhaps with some larger stones deposited by the Sisquoc River, this special block boasts a high concentration of fractured shale and calcareous rock torn from the nearby mountain. Jonathan explained that in combination with this block's more pronounced southerly aspect these infertile soils aid in creating wine of distinct power and concentration, often expressing beautiful earth and mineral tones in the process. Having tasted wine produced from these very vines just minutes earlier his analysis was spot on, and we were thrilled to get a hands-on look into the best section one of the Santa Maria Valley's most historic and unique vineyard sites.
Although our visit had come to an end we left completely ecstatic at what we had learned and experienced at Byron Winery. With a range of incredible wines sourced from many of the top vineyard sites in both the Santa Maria Valley and the Santa Rita Hills there might not be a single producer currently doing a better job of showcasing the cool climate terroir of Santa Barbara County than Byron. Jonathan Nagy and the Byron team are absolutely crushing it, and their remarkable wines are a must-try for any California Pinot Noir aficionado. Byron Winery has earned a well-deserved place on our short list of top Santa Barbara wineries, and we look forward to continue to follow their work moving forward.