Some wines are made to be studied. So Far Out is made to be poured, often with a chill on it, into the nearest glass at the nearest gathering. The brand started with one unconventional, chillable red and a simple idea: organic California wine for the people, with none of the stuffiness. It is wine that does not take itself too seriously, made by people who take the farming very seriously indeed.

Three people, every corner of the industry

So Far Out grew out of years of brainstorming between three friends who together touch nearly every part of the wine world. Andrew Jones has lived slightly in the future of California winemaking for a decade. He started brewing wine in his attic at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, turned that curiosity into the acclaimed Field Recordings label, and works his day job as a nursery fieldman, planning and planting vineyards up and down the state.

Mike Testa is a fifth-generation farmer from Santa Maria who went from Cal Poly to climbing the ladder at E and J Gallo before coming home as a partner at Coastal Vineyard Care Associates, the largest vineyard management firm in Santa Barbara County. He hand-selects the sites and farms organic fruit on his own properties. Jamil Williams is the creative force, a veteran of the Blue Hill wine shop, the iconic Silverlake Wine in Los Angeles, and Amy Atwood Selections, where his friendship with Andrew first sparked the idea.

Organic, and 100 percent Santa Barbara County

The rules So Far Out set for itself are short: every wine is 100 percent organic and 100 percent Santa Barbara County. With Mike Testa farming connections, the project has access to some of the best organically grown fruit in the region, from the cool, fog-fed reaches near Santa Maria to warmer inland blocks.

Santa Barbara County is built for this kind of fresh, lively wine. The east-west mountain ranges funnel marine fog and cold ocean air inland, so days are warm and nights are cold, and the grapes ripen while keeping the bright acidity that makes a wine refreshing. That natural freshness is exactly what a chillable red needs.

The wines

So Far Out made its name with a chillable red, the kind of light, juicy, low-tannin bottle you pull from the fridge on a warm afternoon and drink without ceremony. From there the brand has kept exploring new flavors and styles, always within those two hard rules of organic and Santa Barbara County.

The through-line is drinkability. These are not big, oaky, sit-and-contemplate wines. They are bright, fruit-forward, and made to be opened young and shared, the bottle that disappears fastest at the cookout. Serving the red with a slight chill is not a gimmick here, it is the point: cool temperature tightens the fruit, freshens the finish, and makes the wine even easier to drink.

What to pour it with

A chillable red is one of the most food-friendly wines you can own, precisely because it is light and low in tannin. Pull it cold and pour it with a smashburger or a pepperoni pizza: the wine bright acidity cuts through the fat and salt and resets your palate, while the cool temperature keeps it refreshing against rich, savory food. Because there is little tannin to clash, it will not turn bitter or metallic the way a big Cabernet can against lighter fare.

It is a natural at any outdoor table. Try it with grilled vegetables, charcuterie, or barbecued chicken, where the salt in cured meats and sauce actually rounds the wine out and lifts its fruit. The one move to avoid is treating it like a steakhouse red: a heavily charred, fatty ribeye wants more tannin and structure than a juicy chillable red is built to give. Keep this one for the fun, casual plates it was made for.

So Far Out Wine Company: common questions