The Hilt is a wine that fully expresses the individuality of three vineyards, Radiant, Bentrock and Puerta del Mar, located in the southwest corner of the Santa Rita Hills AVA, which is influenced by the sea. It is a sister winery of Honata, and is brewed by Matt Dees, a young and talented winemaker with a promising future. Matt is a specialist in making wines with a "transparent" feeling and is able to express the terroir of the vineyard directly in the wine. The Hilt is a word used in the English idiom "to the hilt", which means "to complete something", "to accomplish", "totally". With this as their motto, they make the highest quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using only the grapes that nature has given them, without any compromise in order to make high-quality wines. The owner is Stan Kroenke, the owner of the well-known California cult wine Screaming Eagle. He also owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NFL's St. Louis Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams), and is the largest shareholder of the Arsenal in the Premier League. The Hilt is a wine that fully expresses the individuality of three vineyards: Radiant, Bentrock, and Puerta del Mar, located in the southwest corner of the sea-influenced Santa Rita Hills AVA. It is a sister winery of Honata, and is brewed by Matt Dees, a young and talented winemaker with a promising future. Matt is a specialist in making wines with a "transparent" feel, and is able to express the terroir of the vineyard directly in the wine. The Hilt is a word used in the English idiom "to the hilt," which means "to complete something," "to accomplish," "to be completely," etc. With this motto, we make the highest quality Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using only grapes provided by nature, without any compromise in order to make high-quality wines. The owner is Stan Kroenke, the owner of the well-known California cult wine Screaming Eagle. He also owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets and the NFL's St. Louis Rams (now the Los Angeles Rams), and is the largest shareholder of the Arsenal in the soccer Premier League. It is a lively, fragrant, and modest wine. Fresh pineapple and lemon curd sprinkled with powdered sugar. Supple and elegant. Exotic, but also salty like oysters. Suitable for long-term aging, it has a sense of tension, but also a soft and fresh fruitiness. Loquat, green apple, chamomile tea, ginger, lime peel, and nuances of agave. It is also perfect, with the energy of the cool Pacific breeze. This wine reflects the land and the winemaking approach, and while it has a cool, firm and unwavering quality, it also brings warmth, generosity, and even more joy. The Hilt is a premium winery that produces Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from its own vineyards on the coast of Santa Barbara County. It is owned by Stan Kroenke, the owner of Screaming Eagle, a synonymous name for California cult wine, and is known as a sister winery to Screaming Eagle. The wine is made by Matt Deas, a young and talented winemaker with a promising future. Matt is skilled at making wines with a "transparent" feel, and is a specialist who can express the terroir of the vineyard directly in the wine. He specializes in winemaking science, and is known as a soil nerd. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir of The Hilt are wines that can only be made by a nerd like him. The grapes used in The Hilt's wines are grown in a very harsh natural environment. The Santa Rita Hills AVA, which stretches from east to west, is complex and divided into four areas: north-facing, south-facing, near the Pacific Ocean, and inland. The vineyards used by The Hilt are closer to the Pacific Ocean and are in the north-facing areas influenced by the sea breeze. This area is known for being very difficult to cultivate, but it is said to produce the best grapes. The area where The Hilt is based is known as Rancho Salsipuedes and is located 20 km inland from the Pacific Ocean. This is a rugged plateau with no obstacles to block the cold winds blowing in from the sea, with a variety of altitudes, aspects, soils, and microclimates. The diversity of the vineyards gives The Hilt's wines a unique personality and complexity. Rancho Salsipuedes has three of its own vineyards: Radian, Bentrock, and Puerta del Mar. The Hilt produces three blended wines of different styles from these vineyards. The main lineup is "The Vanguard", which uses a lot of new barrels to give it a fruity flavor and structure, "The Old Guard", which uses mainly old barrels to feature the delicacy and aromas of the Old World, and an estate wine that is a blend of the two extreme wines with nuances that are "right in the middle". In 2019, the long-awaited winery was completed on the "Puerta del Mar" site.