|
View PDF >> Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards One of today's leading wineries in Santa Barbara County. |
|
The Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards winery came into existence when two old friends decided they wanted to get into the winery business in the right way. Long-time Central Coast grower Louis Lucas and retired Judge Royce Lewellen were both members of the Santa Maria Wine and Food Society as well as the local Rotary Club and had known each other for more than 20 years when they decided to make the move in 1996. Over lunch, Louis Lucas approached Judge Lewellen about possibly selling one of his proven vineyards, but a deal was struck where Lewellen bought a 50% interest in both Lucas Brothers Vineyards if Lucas would continue to farm them. Two years later, the entity bought another top area vineyard and became a major supplier to numerous wineries throughout the State of California.
Louis Lucas had prior experience with the winery side of the business when he was involved with Tepusquet Vineyards (during the 1970's, when it produced 75,000 cases) and when grape sales softened in the late 1990's, a decision was made to enter the vintner side of the wine industry. The first Lucas and Lewellen wines were made in a number of friends' facilities, but the principals knew that to control their destiny, a new winery was a necessity. The winery, built in nearby Buellton, was completed in 2002 and encompasses more than 20,000 square feet. The equipment there is state-of-the-art and allows for Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards' penchant for producing an unusual number of varietals under its three winery labels. In fact, a review of the entire portfolio shows that most of the top varietals are represented at Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards. Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards' first release was a smallish 400 or so cases that was overseen by noted winemaker Jed Steele, a level that has expanded to around the 35,000 case level. Co-owner Louis Lucas feels the winery is set for some incredible growth in the upcoming years. "Right now, we still sell almost half of our grapes to other wineries," he explained. "With the great reputation of our grapes and with the skill of our winemaker Megan McGraw Gates, we could easily grow to three, four or even five times our present production levels. We are going to pay close attention to the commercial market and expand when the timing is right, but it's really comfortable for us to feel that we are sitting on some of the finest grapes being grown in the whole country." Lucas and Lewellen also operate a pair of high quality tasting rooms in the Danish-inspired tourist village of Solvang, also home to one of the company's premier vineyards known as Valley View Vineyard. One tasting room is devoted to Lucas and Lewellen wines and the other showcases the company's line of Italian varietal wines that are known under the Mandolina label. Since inception, Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards has striven to produce sound, affordable wines that afford good price/value relationships. The company has developed a fierce and loyal following and is something of a cost legend with Central Coast locals who have often witnessed major price increases as their neighboring wineries become more successful |
,'','20', '20'))
,'','20', '20'))
,'','20', '20'))
FEATURED WINES
,'','20', '20')) 
|
2008 Mandolina Pinot Grigio The 2008 Mandolina Pinot Grigio is a part of the Italian inspired portfolio of wines at Lucas & Lewellen. Winemaker Megan McGrath Gates uses the Los Alamos Vineyards as her source, but keeps true to the vines’ Mediterranean heritage, extracting the deeply aromatic, bright fruit flavors that have made these Italian varietals so popular for generations. The Los Alamos Valley’s warm summer days and cool coastal nights provide the perfect growing environment for these Italian grapes, promoting a long and balanced ripening season to achieve the crisp, natural acidity and fresh fruit flavors. Lucas & Lewellen’s 2008 Mandolina Pinot Grigio shows subtle aromas of lemon peel, lily flower, jasmine tea, and pear, with a light, delicate presence and a bright finish. This Pinot Grigio will be a delicious complement to a variety of dishes including goat cheese ravioli pasta, pancetta stuffed roasted turkey, salads, fruit, and a range of cheeses. The 2008 Mandolina Pinot Grigio is a Gold Medal Special Selection, offered exclusively to our members as a prerelease from the winery! Enjoy this wine and drink to “la dolce vita” – the sweet life! 100% Pinot Grigio. Enjoy now until 2014. Watch Tasting Notes Video Clip > |
,'','20', '20'))
|
2006 Merlot - Los Alamos Vineyards Lucas & Lewellen have made a real crowd pleaser with their 2006 Merlot from the Los Alamos Vineyards of Santa Barbara County! The long, mild summer of 2006 produced truly exceptional fruit from this site, with great maturity and delicious balance…resulting in a wine with classic structure and lusciously smooth dark fruit flavors. Some vines within the Los Alamos Vineyards are from cuttings brought over from Europe more than 25 years ago, and they have long been a favorite source for many of |
,'','20', '20'))
|
2007 Pinot Noir Lucas & Lewellen’s 2007 Pinot Noir is a stylish, elegant representation from two estate vineyards within the Santa Barbara County AVA. The Goodchild and Los Alamos Vineyards are cool climate vineyards, sloping gently toward the Santa Ynez River where the wine grape varietals being produced are among the best in the region. Santa Barbara is known as a top producer of California Pinot Noir, and it’s because of wines like Lucas & Lewellen’s 2007 Pinot that delivers on all ts – including great value. This wine has all the characteristics we love about Pinots…from its signature bright red fruit, savory herbs, and minerality, to its refined palate with naturally crisp acidity and excellent structure. Enjoy this Pinot Noir with grilled salmon, fettuccini carbonara, and roasted pork tenderloin…or as an aperitif on its own! A Gold Medal Special Selection, the Lucas & Lewellen 2007 Pinot Noir is a pre-release offered exclusively to our members and has not yet been sent out for review (but judging by the winery’s consistent success in previous vintages, we know this one is a winner as well!). 100% Pinot Noir. Aged 9 months in oak. Enjoy now until 2015. Watch Tasting Notes Video Clip > |
ABOUT THE WINEMAKER
,'','20', '20'))
|
Megan McGrath Gates Eighth generation Californian Megan McGrath Gates is winemaker for Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards and possesses outstanding credentials for her all-important job. A graduate of nearby Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, McGrath also holds a winemaking certificate from prestigious UC Davis. She gained valuable experience in Sonoma Valley with Cahill Winery in Sebastopol and also Flowers Vineyard and Winery on the Sonoma Coast. Gates has worked with almost all varietals in her present role and was promoted from within in 2006 after former winemaker Daniels Gehrs left to found his own winery. Although a classical winemaker, she utilizes several state-of-the-art techniques in formulating the wines for Lucas and Lewellen. |
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
,'','20', '20'))
|
Louis Lucas - the dirt man Louis Lucas, 68, has a great nickname, the dirt man. "I guess you could say I earned it," the personable grower-turned-winery owner recently explained. "My family has been in the growing business my whole life. My grandfather, my father, all my uncles, in fact everyone in our family grew something. Some grew vegetables, but mostly it was grapes. I come from a small Croatian community around Delano (CA) and I was exposed to growing grapes since day one." Louis Lucas chose to attend Notre Dame where he was a letterman in track and a walk-on for the famous Notre Dame Fighting Irish. When he finished school, he returned to California and the business his family knew so well. In the late 1960's, Lucas felt the need to explore new growing sites, where cooler temperatures and conditions would allow his grapes to achieve new levels that were unpractical in the extremely hot Central Valley. He traveled to the nearby Santa Maria Valley on the Pacific Coast and found what he was looking for. "To say the area was virgin grape country would be an understatement," he recalled. "We (his brother) only found one small vineyard planted, but the soils and conditions looked perfectly good to us and we decided to see what we could do. We met Brother Timothy of Christian Brothers and he thought the area was sound for producing high quality grapes so we decided to go ahead and develop some acreage." The first Lucas Brothers Vineyards were planted in 1970, and from there on, the rest, as they say, is history. Santa Maris Valley proved to be a great home for many different varietals and soon the Lucas Brothers were sending their incredible grapes northward to the stellar wineries of Napa Valley and Sonoma County. "We got an early contract with Beringer Brothers Winery (now Beringer Vineyards) and soon a number of other top wineries began purchasing Lucas Brothers' premium grapes. Since they were the first commercial growers in that part of Santa Barbara County, the Brothers became something of a legend in local growing circles. "Beringer helped us decide what kinds of varietal to produce," admitted Lucas. "And we made our share of mistakes in the beginning. But we learned a lot and hoped we wouldn't make the same mistake twice. The big northern wineries began winning a number of really top medals with our grapes along with top scores for their wines. We knew there was a lot to do with the winemaking process, but we also felt that much of their success started with our grapes." Louis Lucas also became the principal supplier of Chardonnay for Kendall-Jackson Vineyards and Winery and watched as the upstart winery increased its dramatically and became a real force in the California wine industry. Since Kendall-Jackson's best know wine was its Chardonnay, the Lucas Brothers and their reputation as growers continued to also rise. When Jess Jackson and Robert Mondavi joined forces to buy vineyards in Monterey County, Louis Lucas's role as supplier to Kendall-Jackson was significantly reduced. When he joined forces with retired Judge Royce Lewellen in 1996 to form Lucas and Lewellen Winery, it was necessity that drove the partnership to fruition. "It isn't always all that easy to sell your grapes," Lucas pointed out. "Even with all our great history, there were many others in our area growing excellent grapes. I felt it was economically smart to have a vehicle that could utilize our grapes and provide us with an outlet for our wines. We had always made a few wines for our own use and they were said to be very good by the ones who tasted them. I became friendly with Jed Steele from Mendocino, and he really helped us out with the finer points of winemaking and in some cases, wine selling. I found out quickly that it was also a great deal of work to sell what you made as a winery, and we had very little track record as a winery. I can say that I learned a great deal about the wine industry during that period, and a good deal of it was what not to do in order to be successful." With his iconic growing career behind him, a successful future with Lucas and Lewellen Winery is an almost given probability. Lucas also has six daughters, two of whom have already indicated their willingness to follow him into the winery business. |
THE WINE REGION
,'','20', '20'))
|
The vineyards of the Santa Barbara County growing region have become incredibly popular during the past three decades and include a number of differing climactic conditions that allow for a wide range of varietal productivity. Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards has wisely managed to position themselves in three distinct growing areas that run the virtual gauntlet regarding temperature, one of the most important growing factors that influence grapes. The coolest growing area is the Santa Maria Valley, home to one of Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards' two initial tracts. More moderate temperatures can be found at the Los Alamos Vineyard, while the latest acquisition (1998) of Valley View Vineyard near Solvang (Santa Ynez Valley) is most certainly the warmest growing area under Lucas and Lewellen plantings. With 400 total acres under vine, a wide variety of fruit is available for the wines of Lucas and Lewellen Vineyards. These vineyards provide a wide swath of possible varietal alignments and allow for an unusual number of fruit and acid mixes
|
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
|
Meatballs with Wild Mushrooms and Rosemary Ingredients: Preparations: |
Fettuccini Carbonara with Bacon and Gorgonzola Ingredients: Preparations: |
Affiliate Program | Blog | Site Map | Wine of the Month Club | Policy | Security | Privacy | FAQ | Credits | Contact Us
