Our Story
kukkula (kook-koo-luh), Finnish for “the hill, or high place”
We are organic dry-farmers.
The dream started around 1990, the time we built our first home in Topanga, California. It was then I became somewhat infatuated with wine. I was already interested in farming, and the 2 1⁄2 acres we purchased provided the opportunity to dig my heels in the dirt. Little did I realize where it would lead!
After several years of basement winemaking and farming an acre and a half of vines, I convinced my wife, Paula, to come with me to explore Paso. That was the fall of 2003. On that first trip, we discovered the Adelaida community and were instantly taken by its rugged beauty.
So, in December of 2004 we moved to the Central Coast and started the process of building our home, winery, vineyard, and olive orchard.
Because our terroir is so similar to the Rhône region of France, we are Rhône-centric. Other than Cabernet Sauvignon, we grow Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise, Petite Sirah, and Roussanne.
We believe the hard work is done in the vineyard. And, if we maintain this discipline, farm organically and without irrigation, we will create wines of intense aromatics, flavors, and color, that are a true expression of place, and the essence of our unique terroir.
We believe that if we’ve farmed well, there is little need to intervene in the cellar.
All of our fermentations use native yeasts. Our red blends are never fined or filtered. We only make blends from estate fruit and don’t adhere to conventional notions and trends. Rather, curiosity and creativity dictate what goes into our final blends.