Wilson Women Grow and Make Wine

On a typical bluebird day in Ojai, Kay Wilson pads along the terra-cotta tiles of her rancho home to the sunny, south-facing patio. In front of her, past the pool, is a smattering of syrah vines. To her left and far above are the towering Topatopa Mountains and the iconic Chief Peak. This behemoth of a mountain, said to have been shaped by the gods to an image of a legendary chief looking to the sky, has shaped Wilson’s relationship with her daughter Claire through their boutique wine project, Est Ouest Wine Co. The label’s wines should be on every local drinker’s radar. You just have to find them and uncork their stories. Last week, I heard some from Claire at her day job in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto.

There are Chumash myths. Matilija poppies. The pink moment. A lone vineyard just outside town with few others for miles. If it sounds a little woo-woo, well, this is Ojai. Here at the Wilsons’ Chief Peak Vineyard, the nebulous origins of which Kay and Claire are still unearthing, Est Ouest (“eh tooehst,” French for “east-west”) skillfully taps the same transverse ranges that open to the sea and the same fresh energy that defines Santa Barbara County wines. But there’s no vortex setting this in motion. From growing and fermenting the grapes –– “We didn’t really know what we were doing at first,” Claire said humbly — to bottling, labeling, and selling the wine by hand, the Wilsons do pretty much all the work themselves.

They got into the wine business when Claire was just old enough to stomp grapes at crush. A skilled chef, nutritionist, and dietician, Kay, with Claire, left Texas for Napa, bought a one-acre parcel of old vine zinfandel in the mid-’90s and took classes at Napa Valley Junior College to learn how to farm it. She sold grapes to reputable wineries, even replanting the zinfandel to more commercially viable petit verdot, and the two made a little of their own wine at home. Their modest success, and fun, was lost on Claire. “[Back then,] I didn’t think I wanted to be in the wine industry. My mom would force me to accompany her in the vineyard, and I would trudge around,” she laughed.

Cooking held more appeal — “an integral part of our lives,” Claire claimed of the meals they still prepare together in Kay’s kitchen. That steered the younger Wilson into hospitality at Cal Poly S.L.O. and then to a Sonoma-based cidery, where Claire finally found her affinity for craft beverage production. In 2018 and 2019, she traveled to Australia, California, and South Africa, taking advantage of the hemisphere swap to work two harvests on two continents in the same year.  “At that point, I fell in love with winemaking and decided that’s what I wanted to pursue,” Claire recalled. She joined Provignage, a consultancy-meets-winery spearheaded by Sashi Moorman, Lompoc winemaker and co-proprietor of renowned wineries Domaine de la Côte and Sandhi.

Kay, meanwhile, realized her daughter was set on settling in the Central Coast and decided to join. There happened to be a home with a random acre of vines for sale just outside downtown Ojai. It wasn’t much of a decision. With one ton of fruit and two barrels’ worth of wine, Est Ouest started with around 600 bottles of syrah in 2019. They repeated that twice, with a little less wine each year due to old vines and weather, then branched out with a grenache-syrah rosé called Cerasuelo in 2022 and 2023.

Though by day she’s helping craft some of the most sought-after pinot noir and chardonnay in California at Domaine de la Côte and Sandhi, Claire has also spent a bit of time with syrah, a grape well-suited to Ojai’s warmth. So far, the Wilsons have focused on the spicy, savory grape varieties indigenous to France’s Rhône Valley, though they also find inspiration in the fresh wines of Provençe, which boasts a dry Mediterranean climate more like Ojai than most anywhere. This is not chilly Lompoc. But with cool mornings, organic farming, and a clear vision, it works. Claire acknowledged, “Our Ojai syrah is usually harvested very early for the [South Central Coast] region…. It’s crucial we capture the fresh and vibrant side of syrah.” The proof is in the pudding.

While their labels look like Ojai love letters, all those totems above represented, the Wilsons are also looking to sites in the east-west corridors of Santa Barbara County for their study on Pacific-bred, Mediterranean-styled wines. Whatever comes, though, Est Ouest has already been worth their while. “The highlight of this whole experience has been my mom getting to connect with her local community through selling the wine and being part of the winemaking experience with me here in Lompoc,” Claire said. “That wasn’t something we got to do in Napa. Being an only child raised by a single parent, it’s special that Mom and I get to work on a project together, connecting over something we both love.”

Est Ouest Wines to Try

Ojai Syrah: A lighter expression of syrah, though the grape’s classic traits are all here: blackberry fruit, Kalamata olive, white pepper, and a touch of herbs. Well-balanced with nice acidity and tension, this bottle clearly takes inspiration from France’s Northern Rhône Valley, with some warm California sun.

Cerasuelo: Though we’re far from summer, this rosé of grenache and syrah is a wine meant for a meal as much as a swim. Named in homage to Cerasuolo (a classic Italian rosé that means “cherry red”), tart, racy red fruits with a savory edge give both drinkability and depth to this chilled, gem-colored wine.

See more at @estouestwineco on Instagram or at (707) 266-8568, and find their wines at retailers and restaurants in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.