Ep 581: Wes Hagen - Santa Barbara Expert & Native9 Wines Brand Ambassador

You will get no better primer on Santa Barbara wine country than in the show. Wes Hagen comes on to school us on his region.    Ask anyone in Santa Barbara wine about Wes Hagen and they'll tell you he is a legend. He has worked in Santa Barbara wine for 30+ years as a vineyard manager, winemaker, hospitality specialist, wine educator, and sommelier. He has run prestigious vineyards , made wine in amazing wineries (Clos Pepe, J. Wilkes Wines, Miller Family Wines), and then became the go-to guy for creating American Viticultural Areas in Santa Barbara, writing and getting four AVAs approved between 1997-2019. He is also a noted educator, having lectured at many of the top viticulture and enology schools in the US and he is known for his famed TED talk on the History of Wine.  Image: Wes Hagen. Credit: Wes Hagen   Wes is currently the brand ambassador for Native9 wines, a brand representing the Ontiveros family's  9th generation of California farmers.   In the show Wes educates us on Santa Barbara geology and climate, the various Santa Barbara County AVAs and what each grows,  the process of petitioning for an AVA, the  Santa Barbara wine country culture and how the movie "Sideways" affected it, and his reasons for believing that a downturn in the wine industry is "doom and room", rather than "doom and gloom"! You are guaranteed to learn a ton about Santa Barbara in this show!    Info on how to contact Wes: Wes Hagen is available through to help guide you through planning a Santa Barbara Wine Adventure:  [email protected] or text him at 805-450-2324. Wes's web site:  www.weshagen.com     Learn more about Native9 Wines at www.native9.com  Vineyard Tours and 'Deep Dive' tastings with Wes are available at Native9 by appointment:  BOOK A TOUR - https://www.exploretock.com/native9     Full show notes and all back episodes are on Patreon. Join the community today! www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople _______________________________________________________________   This show is brought to you by my exclusive sponsor, Wine Access – THE place to discover your next favorite bottle. Wine Access has highly allocated wines and incredible values, plus free shipping on orders of $150 or more. You can't go wrong with Wine Access! Join the WFNP/Wine Access wine club and get 6 awesome bottles for just $150 four times a year. That includes shipping! When you become a member, you also get 10% all your purchases on the site. Go to wineaccess.com/normal to sign up!