Just 14 days after first tasting the splendid 2010 Hilliard Bruce Chardonnay, I was riding through the gorgeous 101-acre estate in the passenger seat of the co-owner’s golf cart.
I met John Hilliard at the fabulous Wine and Fire event at La Purisima Mission in August. Two weeks later, Hilliard gave me a personal tour of his property, driving me past scores of palm trees he planted; stopping to greet his prized, award-winning Arabian horses prancing in the pasture; walking me through his unique botanical garden atop a hill overlooking the Santa Rita Hills; and explaining farming practices in his pristine vineyards.
His vineyard manager tells him they are some of the most manicured vines in the entire state.
“They say this is about as much as you can do,” Hilliard said. “You’ll see this maybe in Napa at high-end vineyards, but you won’t see it very often. That’s because it’s expensive to farm like this.”
Originally from Houston, Texas, Hilliard and his wife Christine Bruce, owners of HB Arabians, came to California for an Arabian horse seminar at the Varian ranch in Arroyo Grande.
They found land on the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills wine region, just east of Lompoc, which is making a name for itself in successfully growing cool climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
“I figured, why don’t we hop in there and just plant some vines for fun?” Hilliard said. “So we started planting vines in 2004.”
“Fun” for Hilliard and Bruce, who are both certified master gardeners, means doing it right, sparing no expense.
“The idea was to start out farming at a very high level,” Hilliard explained.
They planted 21 acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
“I want it small so I can control the farming and do everything very well, instead of cutting corners,” he said.
“We both love plants and digging in the dirt,” Bruce told me. “We did it in Texas and almost put in a vineyard in Texas just for fun, for something to look at, because you can’t drink anything you grow in Texas.”
Part of their strategy in their solar-powered, sustainably farmed vineyard along Hwy. 246 is double-drip irrigation lines, which allow them to water parts of the vineyard and not others. For example, the top of a steep hill usually needs more water than the bottom.
“It’s important because you don’t want one part of the vineyard to be vigorous and the other part starving,” Hilliard explained. “Because then, you just have an inconsistent crop.”
There are also overhead sprinklers throughout the vineyard for frost control.
The couple is building a winery on the estate, which will be ready for the 2013 harvest. Until then, their 1,000 cases are produced in Santa Maria at Central Coast Wine Services, where many artisanal winemakers have set up shop.
Hilliard Bruce Winery is located next to red-hot winemaker Paul Lato, who also happens to be its winemaking consultant.
“He taught us how to make wine,” Hilliard said. “Christine and I want to make our own wine. We want to do everything ourselves physically with our own hands.”
In August, the crisp and rich 2010 Hilliard Bruce Chardonnay ($45) won high marks and a score of 93 from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Legendary chef Thomas Keller features the wine at his respected New York City restaurant: “They sell our Chardonnay at Per Se, by the glass actually. It’s kind of exciting,” Hilliard said.
“Chardonnay is a fabulous grape,” Bruce said. “Maybe it’s been abused in California, but anyway, people like it. And I love what we’ve made; it’s turned out to be the style that I wanted, and it’s beautiful!”
Hilliard said it was his wife’s idea to make a white Burgundy-style Chardonnay, “because that’s what she liked to drink.”
Over the summer, the couple traveled to France, spending a month tasting some of Burgundy’s best wines. They left with a new appreciation for Santa Barbara County.
“It was surprising how much money we spent on a bottle of wine, and oftentimes I thought, ‘Wow, at home in Sta. Rita Hills, for $55 you could get a fantastic bottle of Pinot. And here we spent 150 euros and got something that was OK,” Hilliard revealed. “And then, when I spent 400 euros for a bottle of wine in Burgundy, I could usually get something pretty good. But there were disappointments. You think, ‘God, I spent a fortune, and at home I could have been guaranteed great wine!’”
Hilliard and Bruce believe that wine and the whole wine lifestyle is about living a beautiful life and enjoying it.
“Does it taste good? Is it beautiful wine? Share it with people and be happy,” Bruce said. “And we believe this place is a part of all that.”
The couple believes so firmly in the following quote by Robert Green Ingersoll that it adorns the wine label on the back of their wine bottles: “Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. The way to be happy is to make others so.”
Hilliard Bruce Vineyards produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Rosé. Tastings at the estate are scheduled by appointment.
“We love to have people come and visit us,” Hilliard said.
You’ll be happy you did.
Sun wine and food columnist Wendy Thies Sell is already thinking about which wines to serve with Christmas dinner. Send ideas to wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Dec 13-20, 2012.