Lompoc’s Pali Wine Co. triples operating grounds, announces 20th anniversary celebration for August, adapts appointments for tastings

Pali Wine Company’s 2024 Market Price orange wine blend bursts with pineapple, mango, and tangerine. The 2023 P.C.H. rosé of pinot noir has a zip of acidity and a refreshing wave of delicate red fruit flavors. The 2021 Jetty red wine offers up raspberries, strawberries, and cherries.

“Making wine accessible, not overpriced, and fun, not intimidating, has been an important part of the program since day one,” Director of Winemaking Operations Aaron Walker said. “We have tasting rooms in downtown Santa Barbara, Anaheim, and San Diego. We like to create a fun, inviting atmosphere with no pretentiousness. We’re happy to teach our guests if they want to learn, and we don’t make anybody feel stupid for not knowing about wine.”

Known for its Santa Barbara County pinot noir, Pali was founded in 2005 by Tim and Judy Perr as a tribute to their hometown of Pacific Palisades. Pali Wine Co. will celebrate its 20th birthday on Aug 3. From 12 to 3 p.m., guests will be treated to new and vintage wines at Pali’s Lompoc winery, located at 1036 W. Aviation Drive Lompoc’s own Jacob Cole will perform live music to complement Oak & Smoke BBQ’s Santa Maria-style barbecue.

“We’re going to dive deep into our library and pull out some vintage wines to share,” Walker said. “We have wines going back to our first couple vintages in 2005 and 2006. We also have some brand new wines from our estate vineyard to debut, including a Syrah that’s 2023 vintage [and] a 2021 vintage Champagne-style sparkling wine made entirely from chardonnay grapes.”

In January, Pali took over the building it’s occupied a portion of since 2008, expanding from 10,000 to 30,000 square feet, Walker said.

With the expansion, Pali closed its 1501 E. Chestnut Court tasting room. Tastings are now offered at the winery. They’re usually 60 to 90 minutes and include a few light bites. 

“These are very intimate tasting experiences that I host,” Walker said. “We take you through five or six different wines, and you get to sit and look out into the cellar from our kitchen area.”

After beginning by just producing pinot noir and chardonnay, Pali started its Neighborhood Winery brand in 2019 to focus on more fresh and natural-style wines, according to Walker.

“We make some fun, unique wines that no other wineries produce,” he said. “We have a white wine that we add hops to, so it mimics a beer. We produce a little bit of wine from a grape called dornfelder, which is a German variety that is only planted at one other vineyard in Santa Barbara County. We make a red wine out of it and a chillable red made through carbonic maceration.”

Seeped with dry hops to infuse flavor, the 2023 vintage Aaron’s Revenge introduces sauvignon blanc to citrus. Also from 2023, Pali Vineyard’s dornfelder combines the tartness of berries with the sweet aroma of cocoa and a kick of pepper. Like the 2021 Jetty, Neighborhood Winery’s 2024 Blood Moon melds strawberry and raspberry and is meant to be enjoyed cold, making it ideal to pair with salad or pizza.

Pali also produces wines through its Tower 15 Winery, which focuses on grapes from warmer climate vineyards. Pali, on the other hand, is known more for classic wines, Walker said.

Pali’s 2020 vintage White Cap blends viognier, marsanne, roussanne, and grenache blanc grapes, while its 2021 merlot unites cherry, cocoa, and hazelnut. Its 2020 Pali Vineyard pinot noir evokes raspberry, cherry, black tea, and vanilla.

“Although we are very serious about the pinot noirs we produce, we don’t just produce one kind of wine,” Walker said. “We like to play around with a lot of other varieties and techniques and keep things fresh.”

Reach Staff Writer Reece Coren at rcoren@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Jul 17-27, 2025.