| Who Are We?
Jaffurs
Wine Cellars is dedicated to producing great Rhone varietal wines
with a new-world independence. Our wines -Syrah, Grenache, Petite
Sirah, Viognier, and Roussanne - are among the best in the county.
Owner/winemaker Craig Jaffurs, produced his first professional
wines during the 1994 harvest. All our wines are carefully made
in small lots. Only about 3500 cases are produced each year -
production is limited. We work closely with our growers in the
Santa Ynez, Santa Rita, Los Alamos, and the Santa Maria growing
regions. We limit vineyard yields and require that optimal farming
practices are observed. All our wines are crushed, pressed, cellared
and bottled in our Santa Barbara facility. Visit us for a glimpse
of world class winemaking in the heart of the city. 2007
is our 14th harvest!
In September of 2001 we completed construction of our
new winery facility in the city of Santa Barbara. This modern,
climate controlled facility allows us to make wine at a natural
and careful pace. (Plus, it is only seven minutes from home!)
We process all the fruit for our harvest here and the resulting
wines show the benefits of this improved process. Come visit
us at 819 E. Montecito Street (four blocks north of highway 101
off of Milpas Street).
We are open for tasting Fridays, Saturday, Sunday,
and Monday from 11 am to 5 pm. During the summer months,
we are open everyday from 11 am to 5 pm. Appointments are not
necessary if your group is 6 people or less, and you plan to visit
during our regular tasting hours. Tasting fee is $10 per person.
If
you have a group larger than 6 people, please call for
an appointment. Tasting
fee for large groups is $15 per person. Call 805-962-7003 or e-mail if you have questions.
Take a Virtual
Tour of Jaffurs Wine Cellars
Jaffurs Wine Cellars owns no vineyards. We purchase premium
wine grapes only from Santa Barbara County vineyards: Thompson
(Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache), Bien Nacido (Viognier, Syrah),
Larner (Syrah), Melville/Verna's (Syrah), Westerly (Roussanne),
Paradise (Viognier), and Stolpman (Grenache, Viognier, and Roussanne)
vineyards. The Ampelos Vineyard, located west of Buelton is our
newest site. This is a cool vineyard which produces excellent
syrah. Also new is the Melville Family's second vineyard, Verna's,
located on Cat Canyon Road in Los Alamos. This cool, windy site
provides us with four clones of Syrah.
Meet Craig Jaffurs - Owner & Winemaker
Craig has been making wines since 1989. He is a refugee
from the aerospace industry where he spent 17 years as a cost
analyst. He worked as a cellar rat at Santa Barbara Winery for
five harvests where Bruce McGuire, their winemaker, began prodding
Craig toward a career in wine. Several home winemaking vintages
and a few classes at U. C. Davis later, the winery was born. When
his first wine, the 1994 Santa Barbara County Syrah got rave reviews
in Wine Spectator (score 91) and Wine Advocate (score 90), the
future was set. Craig is not looking back. Away from the winery,
Craig loves surfing, fly fishing, and bonsai.
Meet
The Family
Lee
Wardlaw (Jaffurs) is co-owner of Jaffurs Wine Cellars
and an award-winning author of more than two dozen books for
young readers. Lee's newest book, Won Ton: A Cat Tale
Told in Haiku (Holt, ages 4 and up), which received starred
reviews from Kirkus, Booklist and School Library Journal, tells
the beguiling story of a wary shelter cat and the boy who takes
him home. Look for Lee's middle grade novel 101 Ways to
Bug Your Friends and Enemies (Dial, ages 10-13) in September
2011. To learn more about Lee and her books, visit her website or e-mail her .
Patterson Wardlaw Jaffurs (aka P.J.) is Craig and Lee's
teenaged son. He graduated from Santa Barbara Montessori School
in 2010 and now attends Lee's alma mater, Santa Barbara High.
PJ is a voracious reader. His other loves include: playing Warcraft,
boogie boarding in Hawaii, hapkido (he recently earned his black
belt), chemistry, math, and the family's three cats: Mai Tai,
Papaya and Koloa.
Meet
Dave Yates
In
2003,
Craig hired his long time friend Dave Yates as General Manager
and the winery's first real employee. Dave is another refugee
from aerospace and the wireless communications industries.
He has helped Craig make wine since the garage and Central Coast
Wine Services days. Now he offers his many talents to keep
our cellar, business, and marketing efforts creative and professional.
In 2005, Dave also assumed the role of Assistant Winemaker.
Meet
Matt Brady
If you have ever visited our winery, you've probably met Matt.
He came to our winery in mid 2005 after his graduation from UCSB.
With a great deal of passion, but no winery experience, Matt immersed
himself into everything we do. He's now an indispensable part
of our operation. With several vintages under his belt, including
a vintage in Australia’s Barossa Valley, Matt’s now
our Assistant Winemaker and all-around go-to guy. He is a budding
winemaker and we expect great things from him.
|