Imagine sharing a little wine with friends, maybe more than a little, and deciding to start a winery. That is the actual origin of Imagine Wine, the boutique Buellton label LynDee and Ross Jay Rankin began in 2004. Two decades later Ross still hand-crafts every bottle, aging his reds long and slow in oak, and the couple pours them in a relaxed Industrial Way tasting room with an outdoor lounge, ready to talk winemaking or the world dilemmas with anyone who stops by.

A leap of faith over a shared bottle

Imagine Wine is a true mom-and-pop operation, run by proprietors LynDee and Ross Jay Rankin. Ross is the winemaker, and he came to it the long way, entering the industry in the late 1990s and moving his production around the valley several times over the years before settling in to craft his wines at the Industrial Wine Works in Buellton.

The whole thing started in 2004 from exactly the impulse the name suggests: good wine, good friends, and a leap of faith. That low-key, welcoming spirit is still the heart of the place. Stop into the tasting room and odds are you will be chatting with Ross or LynDee themselves over a pour, which is precisely how they like it.

Central Coast fruit, unhurried oak

Imagine Wine is a Santa Ynez Valley label that casts a wide net for fruit, with Ross sourcing extraordinary grapes from renowned vineyards across the California Central Coast. The Central Coast gives him an enormous palette to work with, from cool, fog-touched coastal sites to the warm inland hills where bold reds thrive.

The style is unhurried and built for richness. Ross ages his wines in oak barrels, at least half of them new, to deepen the flavors and smooth the finish, and his flagship pushes that patience to an extreme. These are limited-production wines meant to reward the wait, both his and yours.

The wines: six years in the making

The crown jewel is the Paradise Mountain Syrah, made exclusively from a sought-after vineyard in the eastern hills of Santa Barbara County and aged a remarkable six years in barrel before release. That kind of extended aging is rare and costly in time, and it shows: the wine arrives smooth, layered, and ready to drink rather than waiting on your cellar. Around it Ross has built a complement of rich, limited-production wines across a range of styles, all hand-crafted and all small in quantity. The lineup rewards a full tasting flight more than a single pour.

What to pour it with

A long-aged Syrah like the Paradise Mountain is a serious red, and it belongs next to serious food off the fire. Grilled or braised lamb, a peppered ribeye, or short ribs are ideal: the tannins in the Syrah bind to the protein and fat in the meat, so the wine turns rounder and softer while the meat tastes cleaner and less heavy. The savory, peppery side of the Syrah meets the char on the crust note for note.

Because the wine has six years of barrel age behind it, it also loves earthy, umami-rich dishes. Try it with a mushroom ragu, a wild mushroom risotto, or aged hard cheeses, where the savory, forest-floor notes that come with age bridge directly to the food. Skip pairing a wine this structured with delicate white fish, the tannins would overwhelm it and turn metallic.

Imagine Wine: common questions