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TIME VISITED: 07/22/2017, 2:30:00 PM

A couple of side notes, there was a lot of road construction going on at the time and we completely missed the turn off, so take heed of that. Also, they are by appointment only, so call for availability.


What we tasted:

2014 Estate Chardonnay
2013 Estate Chardonnay
2013 Pinot Noir Earth
2014 Pinot Noir Sky
2013 Pinot Noir Sun


What we bought:

2013 Estate Chardonnay
2013 Pinot Noir Sun

Hilliard Bruce is the collaboration of John Hilliard and Christine Bruce, a very interesting couple from Texas. John was in the family shipyard business until deciding to follow his passion of painting, Christine was a "horsewoman with a love of music."  In 2002, they purchased the 101-acre Hilliard Bruce estate in the Sta. Rita Hills, to pursue their joint passion of wine.

Greg Brewer and our wine host, Megan.

       Running Man to "Ice Ice Baby" (good times).

Nothing has changed in those regards, lol, but what WAS brand new to me was the new tasting room. Gorgeous architecture and design. It’s so spacious and colorful! Uber high ceilings, with super cool light fixtures hanging down; bright green paint accents; art-deco furniture sprinkled throughout the room; and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A ginormous tasting room, equipped with a full kitchen! Megan greeted us right away and ran through our tasting flight, while giving us

*UPDATE: We are saddened to hear that as of April 30, 2019, Hilliard Bruce Vineyard & Winery has closed its doors, after a little over a decade in the wine business. We would like to wish John Hilliard well and hope that he is able to overcome his illness.

some background on the winery.

The tasting flight consisted of two Chardonnays and three Pinots, and we really enjoyed all of the wines!

Not that it came as a surprise, as the winemaker of these vintages was


Hilliard Bruce-

The first time I went to Hilliard Bruce, it was for my girlfriend Elaine’s birthday nearly 4 years ago. We got a super cool private tour and tasting, as it was by appointment only.  I remembered three

I guess we’ll have to make a trip back to see what her wines are like?! #TwistOurArm

Greg Brewer, who we are a big fan of, stemming back from his Melville days. In fact, we ran into Greg at this tasting! It was nice to catch up with him, and we even discussed doing a Featured Spotlight on him in the near future. It should be noted that Greg has since moved on from Hilliard Bruce to focus exclusively on his current Brewer-Clifton venture, but you'll probably still be able to taste the HB wines that he had a hand in, for a while. Their current winemaker is Sonja Magdevski.

things about this visit:
1.    The grounds were gorgeous.
2.    The wines were FANTASTIC.
3.    My friend Elaine knows how to do a kick-ass