Folded Hills is wine country as a working homestead. Owned by Andy and Kim Busch, of the family that built Anheuser-Busch and opened the original Busch Gardens, it is an old-world organic farm and ranch tucked into the hills near Gaviota, right off Highway 101. There are biodynamic vineyards, eighteen acres of row crops and orchards, a menagerie of beloved animals, and a tasting room in the original farmhouse, all wrapped in a generations-old family tradition of hospitality.

Hospitality in the blood

Andy Busch grew up inside one of America great hospitality stories. His father, August A. Busch Jr., known as Gussie, opened Grant Farm, the family ancestral home and animal park and the first Busch Gardens, to the public in 1954, built on the belief that, as he put it, making friends is our business. That spirit of sharing the land and a way of life became the family legacy.

Andy and Kim fell in love with Santa Barbara in 1998, when Andy served as captain of the USA Polo team at the World Cup. They chose to raise their children with the freedom of the California coast and the hard work and joys of ranch life, and they found their place in Folded Hills. Every wine they make is named for a piece of family history, and the whole property carries that tradition of turning guests into friends, and friends into family.

An old-world organic farm

Folded Hills is farmed organically, following the biodynamic calendar from the vineyard to the glass. Organic cover crops feed the soil, sheep graze between the vines to eat the cover crop and fertilize the ground, ladybugs arrive from the mountains every February as natural pest control, and irrigation comes from clear artesian well water used only when truly necessary.

The vines are hand-tended and hand-harvested, and many of the whole clusters are foot-tread during fermentation, an old, gentle method. The fruit is so clean and good that the team can make the wines with very little intervention. The grapes grow alongside eighteen acres of organic row crops, fruit orchards, and a whole cast of animals, a true farm rather than a vineyard with a view.

The wines

After studying these hills, their soils, and the coastal microclimate, the team planted Grenache, Syrah, and a collection of Rhone whites, the grapes best suited to this warm-but-ocean-cooled site near the Gaviota coast. Guided by their winemaker, the wines are made honestly and with a light hand, small-batch and artisanal, following that same biodynamic rhythm.

The results are expressive and balanced, carrying what the family likes to call the taste of the sun, the fog, and the ocean breezes that waft over these folded hills. They are also wines with a purpose: the family donates its venue, proceeds, and time, holding to a belief that a farm is not an island and that what they have is meant to be shared.

What to pour it with

Folded Hills leans Rhone, which means it leans toward the table. The Grenache, all bright red fruit and gentle spice, is a natural with grilled lamb, pork, duck, and sausages, and it even handles lightly spiced dishes thanks to its supple tannin and lively fruit. The Syrah is darker and more peppery, built for peppered steak, short ribs, and anything off a live fire, where its black-pepper edge meets the char.

The Rhone whites, aromatic and textured, suit roast chicken, pork, and richer seafood, especially anything in butter or cream. Given the farmstead setting, the easiest move is the most fitting: a wood-fired pizza, a plate of things grown on the property, and a glass poured among the animals. A little salt on the food rounds the wine and lifts its fruit.

Folded Hills: common questions