Dedicated to crafting exceptional, site specific wines Westerly Wines was founded with the mission of creating a portfolio of wines sourced from premier vineyards throughout Santa Barbara’s five AVA’s. Purchased in 2012 by Roger Bower, Westerly Wines was thus joined with Bower’s Crown Point Vineyard, a 106 acre ranch uniquely suited to Bordeaux varieties.
During the time of the Key to Wine Country weekend, Henkel had just seeded all the vineyards for cover crop and hoped the recent rains would help to get these plantings going. He was also currently working on further vineyard development and had just uprooted some old Semillon and Sangiovese vines and was preparing to plant Happy Canyon’s first Petite Sirah vines.
Equating his winemaking style to sculpting, Henkel explains that to create the best wine, you take away everything you don’t want and are left with the purity of the site and the vine. Utilizing a combination of traditional and innovative winemaking methods, Henkel employs a rigorous approach to winemaking and utilizes a number of elements in his pursuit of crafting unique and individualistic wines.
“My favorite thing to do here is sit down with 60 different components and make one, complete wine,” states Henkel.
With the Westerly portfolio, Henkel and Bower plan to transition the entire portfolio to focus on the five sub AVA’s of Santa Barbara and the duo have plans to eventually open a tasting room for the winery as well.
“The beauty of the Westerly portfolio,” Henkel explained, “is that I can make wines from the different AVA’s within the county that are reflective of each’s sense of place.”
And with such a plethora of quality vineyards to source from, Westerly Wines are an exceptional showcase of the best Santa Barbara has to offer.