“I set out
with the idea of showcasing where the grapes are grown. This is about the land
and the people – it’s about the place.”
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| George Rose |
Rose’s
latest coffee table book is, in fact, a beautiful tribute to Santa Barbara
County’s wine region, delivered in sweeping, moving images. The hardcover “Wine
Country: Santa Barbara County” ($80, including California sales tax and
shipping) is almost 200 pages long, weighs more than three pounds and takes
full advantage of its 11-by-14-inch format. “I wanted to present the pictures
as if people were walking through a gallery,” says the photographer. “When you
turn the page, and that image doubles in size – it makes an impact.”
Rose’s style
makes the various vineyards depicted in the book look downright spectacular,
like a sun-drenched stretch of Stolpman Vineyards along Ballard Canyon, or the
starry harvest sky above Dierberg-Star Lane Vineyards near Lompoc, or a blanket
of fog hugging the vines at Grassini Vineyards in Happy Canyon. Portions of the
book guide the reader through several wine growing hot spots, like the pinot
noir haven that is Sta. Rita Hills, the much warmer Los Olivos District and the
Foxen Canyon Trail.
But Rose’s
book goes well beyond the wine, reaching for that sense of place he mentions,
capturing the people who live in the towns that make this particular portion of
California special. “There’s a very Western flavor to Santa Barbara County that
makes it unique and different from Napa and Sonoma,” says Rose, who published a
similar book on Sonoma County’s wine region in 2017.
Solvang is
represented by the young ladies doling out aebleskivers during Danish Days, the
dancers twirling down Mission Drive during the 4th of July parade
and the legendary Rancheros Vistadores traversing the open range on horseback.
Buellton, Lompoc and the Santa Maria Valley star, too. And even Santa Barbara
gets a chapter, with big pictures of families at dinner, friends out on bikes
and plenty of smiling sippers in the Funk Zone. “I’ve been fascinated watching
the wine tasting idea in an urban setting really explode,” says Rose.
One of the
book’s most poignant sections is its spotlight on the women and men who work
the vineyards. Dozens of photos capture the oft-grueling physical task of
harvesting grapevines – plucking and sorting thousands of berries by hand, and
often in the cold, dark hours between midnight and dawn. “I feel strongly that
California is rooted in agriculture,” says Rose. “There’d be no wine industry
without these people -- they are critical
to the success of California wine. And it’s very important that we keep hitting
on that topic. With all the politics today, that message gets lost.”
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| Photos from George Rose's "Wine Country: Santa Barbara County” |
Rose, who
moved from Healdsburg to Solvang six years ago, brings a lifetime of
behind-the-camera experience to his new tome. He was in his 20s when he worked
as a staff writer at the L.A. Times and, soon after, as an in-demand freelancer
for Newsweek, Time and Rolling Stone. More than 13 years followed, as an
official photog for the NFL. Serendipity stepped in when Rose was offered a job
in wine industry marketing, a job he held for 25 years with companies like
Fetzer and Kendall-Jackson. But Rose, who never stopped honing his shooting
skills, decided to return to photography full-time in 2012, and he’s been gazing
at vineyards through his lens ever since. “I realized quickly,” he says, “that
my style worked well with vineyards’ own growing social media needs.”
“Wine
Country: Santa Barbara County” is self-published by Rose, who secured funding
from myriad tourism groups, like Visit Santa Barbara and Visit the Santa Ynez
Valley, and local wineries, including Zaca Mesa, Foxen and Bien Nacido. The
book is available at all sponsor tasting rooms, as well as Rose’s own website, georgerose.com.
An art exhibit
featuring many of Rose’s recent landscape photography, titled “Santa Barbara
County & Beyond,” will open at the Wildling Museum in Solvang on November
16th.
Cheers!
