Hilliard Bruce Goes on the Market: State-of-the-Art Winery Listed for $15 Million

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
photos by Brady Spear, Spearhead Media
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 11/16/18

Hilliard Bruce, a state of the art winery in the heart in Santa Barbara County’s celebrated Sta. Rita Hills region, has just been put on the market. The property, which spans 101 acres and features one of the most state-of-the-art wineries on the Central Coast, is listed at $14.95 million.

“It’s an extraordinary place,” says production manager Sonja Magdevski, the locally renowned winemaker who joined Hilliard Bruce in 2017 to oversee the 21 planted acres of pinot noir and chardonnay and annual production of about 15,000 cases of wine.

“The potential for growth for whoever buys it is huge,” she continues. “Do you want to plant more grapes? There’s space for it. Do you want to build another home? There’s space for it. There’s plenty of room to personalize it.”

The property is very much turnkey, though, especially for a buyer seeking a ranch and vineyard lifestyle. The estate, nestled just off State Route 246 near Lompoc and neighboring other celebrated vineyards like Babcock and Melville, features a stunning 15,000-square-foot gravity flow winery designed by BJC, the same architecture firm behind the aesthetic for the Apple stores and Bill Gates’ residence on Lake Washington. There’s a luxe equestrian complex with eight stalls, indoor/outdoor entertainment kitchen, bocce ball court and elegant owner’s living quarters. The manicured landscaping throughout includes a 10-acre pasture, a reservoir with floating islands and various oak, redwood, Italian pine and palm trees.

The sale also includes all existing wine inventory, including the 2018 harvest wines, which Ms. Magdevski put in barrel this past Monday.

Hilliard Bruce was founded in 2002 by the husband-and-wife team of, and Texas natives, John Hilliard and Christine Bruce. Sustainability was a focus from day one, which led to two innovative milestones for the Sta. Rita Hills area: SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certification of the vineyard and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification of the winery. Since the Hilliard Bruce wine label launched in 2014, the winery keeps about a third of its annual 60- to 70-ton harvest, creating wines that consistently garner 90+ scores; the remainder of the yearly grape inventory is earmarked for a lengthy list of longtime client wineries in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Napa and Sonoma Counties.

Hilliard Bruce is listed by Kerry Mormann & Associates and shared with Joe Ramos of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.

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