Holus Bolus and The Joy Fantastic are the work of Peter Hunken and Amy Christine, a husband and wife team who proudly refuse to chase trends. Amy holds the Master of Wine title, one of only a few hundred people on earth to do so, and wrote her thesis on Syrah. Peter learned his craft over eight years at Stolpman Vineyards. Together they make small-batch, single-vineyard wines from time-honored grapes, grown organically on a windswept hillside at the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills.

The Master of Wine and the Deadhead

Amy Christine earned an MW from the Institute of Masters of Wine in the UK, a title held by only a few hundred people worldwide and far fewer women. She came up as a sommelier in Los Angeles and an import specialist with the legendary Kermit Lynch in Berkeley, and she still teaches wine in LA. She is also, by her own cheerful admission, a die-hard Prince fan, which matters more to this story than you would think.

Peter Hunken came to wine sideways, with a studio art degree from Pitzer College and a hard-won, eight-year apprenticeship at Stolpman Vineyards that taught him the science. He is a Grateful Dead fan and a surfer. The two of them launched Holus Bolus in 2005, a name that means all at once, entirely, without modification. It is a fair description of how they do everything.

The Joy Fantastic

In 2014 they planted a five-acre hillside vineyard on the far western boundary of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA and named it The Joy Fantastic, after a Prince album, because Amy fandom runs deep. The plot was once a humble cow pasture. Its low-yielding clay loam and diatomaceous soils, made of the fossilized remains of ancient marine algae, now grow Chardonnay, Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah exclusively for the Joy Fantastic label.

This is steep, rugged, rustic ground with abundant drainage, close enough to the Pacific to catch crisp, foggy mornings and warm, sunny afternoons. The vines are planted densely so they compete, putting their energy into ripening fruit rather than growing leaves. It is farmed without synthetic fungicides, herbicides, or pesticides, leaning instead on cinnamon and citrus oils, clay, geranium sprays, and old-fashioned mechanical weeding.

Single vineyards, noble grapes

The wines come in two streams. Under Holus Bolus, Peter and Amy bottle single-vineyard wines from across Santa Barbara County, never blended, each one made to showcase the specific microclimate and soil it came from. Under The Joy Fantastic, everything comes off their own estate hillside. The grapes are the time-honored noble varieties they love best: Syrah above all, plus Chardonnay, Roussanne, Gamay, and Pinot Noir.

The house style is elegant, restrained, and refreshing, cool-climate wines with crisp acidity, real fruit ripeness, and the savory, spicy character that the Sta. Rita Hills stamps on everything that grows there. These are not blockbusters. They are wines built for the table and for thinking about.

What to pour it with

Cool-climate Syrah is one of the great food reds, and Holus Bolus makes the case better than almost anyone. Its black pepper, dark fruit, and savory, almost smoky edge are built for grilled and roasted meat: lamb, peppered steak, duck, venison, or sausages off the fire, where the wine spice meets the char and its acidity cuts the fat. The classic bridge here is black pepper in the wine meeting black pepper on the plate, a pairing that clicks because they share the same aromatic compound.

The Pinot Noir and Gamay want lighter fare, roast chicken, salmon, charcuterie, and mushroom dishes, where bright acidity and gentle tannin keep everything fresh. Pour the Chardonnay and Roussanne with richer seafood and poultry in cream or butter. As always, a little salt on the plate softens the wine and lifts its fruit, turning a good match into a great one.

Holus Bolus & The Joy Fantastic: common questions