There’s the Hollywood version of our California coast, and then there’s the real California coast.

The Hollywood coast is full of sunshine, palm trees, and women swimming in bikinis. Sure, that scene exists, but is it the best of what California has to offer?

That’s not the coast I know and love. The coastline I know is foggy and wild. The geography is unpredictable and it smells of sea spray and neighboring forests. It’s complex, sophisticated, and never ceases to impress me.

This wine is the real California coast.

It’s not dumbed down or oversimplified to appeal to the masses like those buttery, oaky Chardonnays you’ve tasted before. It’s cool climate Santa Cruz mountains done right - smooth at first and then increasingly lively and mineral with the evolution of each sip. Every taste offers complexity - preserved lemon, spearmint, fennel, almond, and that salty, earthy finish that I love so much. It’s a wine you could ponder, but that’s not what I recommend. As always, I say pop that cork, set the table, and settle in for a delicious evening.

Would pair beautifully with:
~ Slow roasted salmon with fennel, citrus, and chiles
~ Chicken fricassee with lemon and mustard sauce
~ Swordfish with crushed olives and oregano
~ Fish tacos
~ Mushroom pasta with goat cheese or mushroom and goat cheese bruschetta

Unfortunately, there are plenty of wineries that pay lip service to environmental issues without following through in practice. Terms like “sustainable,” “natural,” and “minimal intervention” aren’t easily defined and therefore, are easy to exploit. That said, if there was one winemaker to turn to in order to see how truly environmentally friendly wines are made, that person would be Kenny Likitprakong.

“I harvested the first Ghostwriter vintage in 2008. I wanted to champion a largely misunderstood appellation and produce a wine that no longer existed in California.”

Alex: You are quite dedicated to being environmentally friendly at every step of the winemaking process. Can you tell me a little more about that?

Kenny: Aside from wine quality and providing a stable, successful environment for the people we work with, our top priority is to be as conscious of our carbon footprint and environmental consequences as possible. All of the vineyards that we farm are organically farmed and over 80% of our total grapes whether farmed or sourced are organically farmed. Our winery is enrolled in Sonoma County’s Evergreen energy program meaning 100% of our power is coming from sustainable renewable sources which in our case largely means geyser power from Northern Sonoma County. We have also adjusted our winemaking and grape growing to use a minimum of water. The packaging is a big part of a wine’s carbon footprint. About 20% of our total production is packaged in kegs. Though kegs have their own carbon footprint, each keg saves 26 bottles and all the associated packaging resulting in a net loss of waste. We use all lightweight antique green glass for our bottles so less glass, less petrol for transport, and more recyclable. Our labels are all printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper using HP green inks. We don’t use capsules, and we have recently converted all of our wines to Diam (in some cases, Diam’s Origine which used plant-based glue and beeswax) to eliminate corked bottles and that as a waste source. Finally, we are a member of 1% for the Planet across our whole company, not just one brand, and donate 1% of our gross revenue to non-profits that do environmental work.

A: Are there specific practices you wish other winemakers would adopt?

K: I would like the winery industry to be more conscious and self-aware of the impact our industry has on the environment and how even small efforts are worthwhile and consequential.

A: What can consumers look for or ask about when selecting wines from producers that are "sustainable" in their practices?

K: In some cases, certifications, but this is tricky. Our wines do not have certifications. In many cases, though 80+% of our vineyards are organic, many of our wines are not 100% from organically certified vineyards which means we can’t make any mention of it on a label. Like anything, consumers are faced with the responsibility of asking questions and doing research. Wine is already so counterintuitive from a consumer viewpoint. I hope to work on this in the coming years and be more transparent ourselves about what we are doing and how to transmit that information.

I didn’t admit to myself what I was getting into. I bought a small amount of grapes from them in 2008 and agreed to take over the farming in 2009. A plan to fold together the Woodruff Vineyard and Aptos Creek, which I had been loosely connected with since 2001, create a brand, and produce the wines that had eluded me on my first go around in the Santa Cruz Mountains began to play out.

In 2008, The Ghostwriter launched with Woodruff Family Vineyard and Aptos Creek Vineyard Pinot Noirs and a Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay. The Ghostwriter is about Santa Cruz and it’s many terroirs, old heritage vineyards, and the light, acid-driven, pretty, perfumey style of wine that it is capable of. “Ghostwriter” is a way of saying that the wine and the winemaker are in a sense telling a story that is not entirely their own. The subjects of the story are the sites, the vines, and the vintage and as the winemaker, my part is simply to relay the story and insert myself as little as possible.

In 2010, I reconnected with Steve Remde and added Belle Farms to the Ghostwriter line-up. In 2011, we took over the farming of the all but forgotten and dismissed Amaya Ridge Vineyard, a windfall after years, going back to the Hallcrest days, of wanting to work with the site. In 2012 we built on our relationship with Steve Remde and began working with his Smith Road vineyard. In 2013, Val and Dexter Alhgren, pioneers of the Santa Cruz Mountains and friends since my first Santa Cruz days, retired from making wine, and asked me to take over the farming of their estate vineyard. I also took over the part of Bates Ranch that they had been working with since 1976 and produced the Ghostwriter’s first Cabernet Sauvignon.

The poems on the labels are an attempt to relate to what is inside the bottles, express the sensibility that I am trying to achieve, and acknowledge how important these wines are to me.

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