Kaena Wine Company
“Grenache is a varietal that is intensely aromatic, sexy, feminine, bold and always full of surprises.”
Established in 2001 Kaena has been making some of the areas finest Grenache and Rhone blends with vineyards within the Ballard Canyon area. Named on of the most promising producers by Wine Spectator Magazine. Focus is on small lot hand crafted wines that show distinction and sense of place.
1. What was your first vintage year? 2001
2. Do you have a Tasting Room? If Yes/Hours? We know have two tasting locations. One is located at 2890 Grand Avenue in Los Olivos, CA. We are open Thursday from 11am-5pm and our new ranch location at 800 East Highway 246 in Solvang, which is open daily from 11am-5pm.
3. How did you get your start in the winemaking business? I started with Beckmen Vineyards as a harvest grunt October 4th 1999 exactly 3 years to the day I moved away from my home town in Honolulu. After a few years, I moved to Fess Parker Winery, and in 2006 I returned to Beckman as head winemaker. I left my day job in 2014 and I am now 100% Kaena Wine.
4. What wine made you want to become a winemaker/start your own winery? I wanted to make wines for myself and to work with my love “Grenache” to create wines that go great with the foods I grew up with in Hawaii.
5. What varietals do you work with? Which varietal/wine is your favorite to make? Why? Grenache because it is the hardest grape to work with, but gives me the most reward in the end. It is a varietal that is intensely aromatic, sexy, feminine, bold and always full of surprises. In my obsession with this varietal, my goal is to create the most diverse Grenache portfolio in the Santa Ynez Valley by working with the best fruit available. I am pretty close to accomplishing this goal. I also work with Syrah, Mourvedre, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Albarino and Viognier.
6. What vineyards do you source from? Why? I buy by the acre from Tierra Alta and Larner Vineyards in Ballard canyon for Grenache and Syrah. There is also a new vineyard of Grenache planted for Kaena in the Ballard area called Vie Caprice. I also work with La Presa, Camp 4, and Estelle Vineyards. Stag Canyon for my Bordeaux reds. Ballard Canyon Rocks!
7. What type of oak treatment do you use? Why? I use neutral French oak for the white wines and seasoned 1-5 year old French Oak for the Grenache and Hapa because I want to show the true varietal character of the grape and the essence of the vineyard.
8. What do you love about your winemaking region? What makes it different special? What region would be your second choice? I love working in the Ballard Canyon area because of the two major soil types, limestone/clay and sandy soils. Larner Vineyard is sandy allowing for high water stress creating very intense berries. Tierra Alta is limestone/clay which creates high toned aromas and great minerality. I think our SYV is truly unique because of the true east west mountain range creating cool night and balancing the vines natural acidity. If I could make wine in another region it would be in the Sonoma coast because of the diversity.
9. What's the story behind your name/label?I part Hawaiian born and raised in Honolulu. The name Kaena is my given Hawaiian name by my Tutu (Great grandmother) who had the biggest influence in my life and made me the man I am today. The name Kaena is short for Ka’ena’ai which means potential for greatness. Kaena is what Tutu called me on a daily basis it means “proud” of which I am very when it comes to my wines.
10. What's the biggest misconception about making wine in California? That it is all glamour. It’s incredibly hard work.
11. What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about the wine business before you started your own winery? Open a tasting room ASAP!
12. We're curious…do you even get tired of drinking your own wine? I love my own wine but when I buy I never buy domestic. I shop CDP, Priorat, Alsace, Loire, Italy and Austrailia.
13. Is it considered bad form to dip into your inventory? Never.
14. If working in the wine industry wasn't an option, what's your other dream job? Do you still have a day job? My day job thankfully is my dream job as a winemaker, but if I wasn’t making wine I would probably be putting out fires and saving lives as a Fireman.
15. What piece of winemaking equipment is the most fun to use? The hardest? Most necessary? Most fun would be our vibrating destemmer. Hardest and most necessary is our Seitz cross flow filter. She is a she and it’s the only piece of equipment I caress and kiss because if I take care of her, she takes care of me.
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