Kenneth-Crawford Winery
Santa Barbara County region
Forefront producers you definitely want to keep your eye on
One of Santa Barbara County’s tiniest producers, Kenneth-Crawford is guided by the gifted winemaking duo of Kenneth “Joey” Gummere and Mark Crawford. The two friends have been joining forces since 1999, when they met working for one of Santa Barbara’s top talents, Bryan Babcock, at Babcock Winery & Vineyards.
Working as assistant winemakers, Joey and Mark shared a philosophical and stylistic appreciation for the region’s cooler climate wines and were eager to go about it on their own.
In 2000, the friends established Kenneth-Crawford Winery with the intention of focusing on cool-climate Syrah. While they acknowledge that Syrah is grown successfully in both warm and cool climates, the duo prefers the cooler regions with wines that are characteristically spicier and more complex warmer regions usually yield Syrah wines that are more fruity and robust in character).
Joey and Mark have also added Pinot Noir, Grenache and Riesling to their portfolio, expanding slowly to ensure they never compromise their standards in sourcing exceptional Santa Barbara fruit and crafting distinctive, vineyard-driven wines.
Their super-focused, small-lot approach has quickly elevated Kenneth-Crawford Winery to the upper echelons of Santa Barbara’s wine industry, making them one of the forefront producers you definitely want to keep your eye on.
