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February 2016 WINES&VINES 75 WINE EAST WINE INDUSTRY NEWS C lifton, Va.—What do you do when you're a small (but rapidly growing) win- ery in Virginia and you need more grapes? After opening Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton in Janu- ary 2010, owner Kirk Wiles had increased sales from 1,300 cases to more than 12,000 cases by 2013. Wiles wanted a supply of high-quality fruit to meet the growing demand for his wines, but growth in the number of Virginia wineries has not been matched by an increased number of vineyards to supply them, much less the existing wineries that have increased their sales. While visiting California in Feb- ruary 2014, Wiles came up with the answer: open a second Para- dise Springs winery in the Santa Barbara area. Grapes grown in the region, especially the Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blancs, would add diversification to the winery's portfolio of Virginia wines and allow Paradise Springs to con- tinue expanding sales in Virginia. Through multiple contacts, Wiles met Doug Margerum, owner of Margerum Wine Co. in Buellton, Calif. Margerum agreed to be lead consultant and to make the wine Wine East Covering Eastern North America Paradise Springs of Virginia Opens California Facility in Buellton. Rob Cox, head wine- maker of Paradise Springs in Vir- ginia, is the executive winemaker for the Santa Barbara operation, and Wiles is the overall manager. Paradise Springs Santa Bar- bara was officially formed in sum- mer 2014. Margerum and Cox produced two wines during the 2014 vintage: 285 cases of Sauvi- gnon Blanc from the Santa Bar- bara AVA and 320 cases of Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The winery added a Chardonnay and a Bordeaux blend to their product list during the 2015 har- vest. Wiles' next goal is to open a tasting room in the "Funk Zone" of downtown Santa Barbara, an area with an urban wine trail and many restaurants. When that tast- ing room opens, Paradise Springs will join a limited number of win- eries with tasting facilities on both coasts. —Linda Jones McKee Kirk Wiles, owner of Paradise Springs Winery, added a winery in Santa Barbara County, Calif., to supplement the amount of fruit available in Virginia.