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 California cult wine, and is known as a sister winery of Screaming Eagle. The wine is made by Matt Deas, a young and talented winemaker with a promising future. Matt is good at making wines with a "transparent" feeling, 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 wines that can only be made by him, who is a nerd, are The Hilt's Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The grapes used for 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 is divided into four districts: north-facing, south-facing, near the Pacific Ocean, and inland. The vineyards used by The Hilt are closer to the Pacific Ocean and are north-facing plots that are influenced by the sea breeze. This area is known to be very difficult to cultivate, but it is said that the best grapes grow there. The area where The Hilt is based is known as Rancho Salsipuedes, and is located 20km inland from the Pacific Ocean. This is an undulating 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 these 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 with 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 aroma of the Old World, and an estate wine that is a blend of these 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.