Ken Brown tells the story of pinot noir in Santa Barbara Wine County

Send us Fan MailThis episode was an extremely special way to close out what was a truly magical time in Santa Barbara Wine County – spending over an hour with two legends of the Santa Barbara, and wider Californian wine industry. You will all know Wes Hagen - wine maker, philosopher and poet, who I’ve been blessed to have previously on the show multiple times. Yet today Wes was in a supporting role. Wes and I sat down with one of the original pioneers of Santa Barbara, Mr Ken Brown. Ken Brown was among the first vintners to realize the tremendous promise for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in this cool-climate appellation beginning in the mid 1970s. He was also the first winemaker to introduce Syrah, as well as Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, to Santa Barbara County. In this conversation Ken regales us with stories, perspectives and very special insights on the Santa Barbara scene – and I sat there like an awe struck schoolboy hanging onto every word Ken and Wes spoke. I often feel at risk of becoming too absorbed in wine’s romanticism – but then conversations like these, with two legends of the game, make me so comfortable with that feeling  - the feeling that wine is only truly understood when you cross over from the science and forensics and enter into the realm of story, romanticism, identity and poetry. This was an extremely special conversation to record, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. A huge thanks to Wes and Ken for joining me. Support the show