Each month we feature an incredible small-batch winery and this month we are so excited to feature wines from J. Brix, a small-batch producer in Vista aiming to tell the stories of California grapes.
Photo courtesy of J. Brix
About J. Brix
After tasting a bottle of Pinot Noir from the Santa Maria Valley, San Diegans Jody and Emily caught the winemaking bug and decided to go all in - volunteering themselves as harvest interns in the same place they fell in love with wine. They found they simply couldn't get enough of the dirty work, so one dream led to another and J. Brix Wines was born. Today, they chase the stories each grape has to tell, sourcing from vineyards across California’s Central Coast and always looking for new ways to let each varietal speak for itself. Emily and Jody’s vision is bold, their passion is infectious, and their wines? Something truly special. Read on to learn more!
What made you want to start a wine brand?Â
We didn't actually mean to start a wine brand! We fell in love with wine; became friends with winemakers who invited us to help them out with the process; and decided to make a little wine of our own in 2009. It was well received, and we wanted to keep doing it, so that's how J. Brix Wines came to exist.
How has the process been in growing your brand and what are you most excited about over the next 5 years?
We opened our first tasting room in San Marcos in October 2024, which has been a great tool to share the wines with people who aren't already familiar with them. We're excited about growing in that location, and plan to open a second spot at our Carlsbad production facility for tours, food and wine. We look forward to continuing to connect with our local neighbors, and be a go-to place where everyone can enjoy delicious wines and fun in a comfortable space.
What grape varietal is the most underrated and why?
I'd say it's a tie between Riesling and Syrah. Many people have one experience with sickly-sweet Riesling and/or heavy, tannic Syrah and write those varieties off forever. Both are grapes with so much potential to make gorgeous, age-worthy wines, if they're grown in the right climate and treated well in the cellar.
How has the San Diego wine scene changed and how do you see it evolving over time?
It's been amazing over the years to watch San Diego become interested in thoughtfully farmed, minimal-intervention wines like ours. When we first started selling our wines, they sold out pretty quickly in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the prevailing thought in most San Diego shops and restaurants was that no one here was making wines they would want to pour. For many people, once they taste these kinds of wines, it's hard to go back to mass-produced, so I look forward to continued growth in the future.
What is 1 thing you want people to know about you or your wines that they may not know?
Now is the time to support your local winery and your local wine shop. All of us on the small-business end of this fun and maddening industry do it first for the love and the passion, but it takes a village in order to make it succeed. Wine has brought people together for more than 8,000 years - let's continue to seek out the human connection and the magic that happens when friends gather to share a bottle.
This month, we'll be featuring their Wild Wild Sea Chenin Blanc, a crisp, tropical white wine harvested from the Jurassic Park Vineyard in Santa Ynez Valley (no really, that's the name of the vineyard!). Why call it Wild Wild Sea? "Fossils abound in this sandy vineyard, planted on what was, long ago, the ocean floor. To walk the rows is to imagine our beloved, wild Pacific Ocean once there, an unstoppable force that has shaped our lives in ways we never could have expected."
Come check them out this Wednesday, August 6th from 5pm - 7pm as they pour through some of their incredible wines. If you can't make it, be sure to pop into their tasting room in San Marcos at 250 N City Dr #10, San Marcos, CA 92078. You can learn more about them at their website here.Â
