Jorian Hill - Overview

There are some vintners who acquire grapes,
and some have grapes thrust upon them.

Gary and Jeanne Newman - devoted cultivators of the exceptional small-lot, estate-grown wines of Jorian Hill - did not set out to own a winery. Their goal was to find a family home in the Santa Barbara County foothills that they had loved and explored for many years. They found that home in 2005: an idyllic 20-acre estate nestled in the rolling hills of Ballard Canyon. And to their surprise, on a southwesterly-facing hill, they found something else: seven and a half lush acres of top-quality Syrah and Viognier vines.

Seize the grape.

As longtime wine aficionados and intrepid surveyors of back-road wineries in and around the Santa Ynez Valley, Gary and Jeanne eagerly embraced their new futures as vintners. And as veterans of the entertainment business - Gary is President of 20th Century Fox Television, and Jeanne is a partner in a top entertainment law practice - they had a distinct set of skills to apply to the task. In their Los Angeles-based careers, Gary and Jeanne have both earned unique respect by building winning teams of trusted people, by valuing the inspiration and inclusion of their family, and by displaying an uncompromised passion for excellence; and it is precisely these standards that have guided the development of Jorian Hill. The winery's winning team is an all-star assembly including renowned winemaker Bruno D'Alfonso, formerly of Sanford Winery, as well as top vineyard assessor Jeff Frey (whose clients include Sea Smoke, Au Bon Climat and Qupé) and his company Frey Farming, who oversees the estate's viticulture program. Also part of the team are the Newman children - Jordan, Reed and Hillary - who have helped to pick and taste grapes, endured the harvest-time bee stings that inspired the vineyard's bumblebee logo, and lent their names to be blended into the name Jorian Hill. Yet what truly drives this remarkable young winery are Gary and Jeanne's vigilance and joy: their ceaseless education in the art of creating premium Rhône varietals, including university coursework and travels to the northern Rhône Valley; their insistence on the use of chemical-free and sustainable farming methods; and their keen ambition to create wines according to the highest standards of California winemaking.

Grape Expectations.

Jorian Hill is now the home of a thriving vineyard as well as a dog, cats, goats, lambs, chickens, and the proud Newman family. In small lots and with vigilant attention to detail, the estate produced 650 cases of its inaugural 2004 Syrah and 300 cases of its 2005 Viognier. Gary and Jeanne Newman approach their unexpected life as vintners with great passion, without pretension, and with a devotion to excellence that ensures the extraordinary promise of Jorian Hill.