Santa Ynez Valley, CA, USA

ROARK

A born and bred Texan, Ryan Roark formed Roark Wine Company in 2009 with the aim of making natural wines with fruit from responsibly farmed vineyards in Santa Barbara County. While studying bioenvironmental sciences at Texas A&M, a summer program in France led to work at Domaine Taillandier, in Savennieres. This experience sparked a love of wine which eventually took him to the Napa Valley, New Zealand and then Santa Barbara County. In addition to farming small vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley, Ryan farms Demetria Estate’s biodynamic vineyards, mostly planted to Rhone varieties and is now their head winemaker. Ryan and his business partner Emily Meyers produce natural wines with very little intervention (“naturally made, classically styled”), using minimal effective amounts of sulfur and avoiding fining and filtration.