Hawks Hill Ranch Winery — A Hidden Gem in the Hills of Adelaida District

Kit Kuyper popped open the trunk of his 35-year-old classic Range Rover, but instead of shopping bags or tennis rackets coming into view, it was a handsome bar — a wooden console holding a lineup of his Hawks Hill Ranch wines, four Rhône-style wines joined by a Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay.

“They used to do this for fox hunting with, like, guns and whiskey,” he told me, opening the various doors and drawers of this console custom-crafted by a local woodworker to fit the large trunk. “This is for wine and is used for VIP tastings in the vineyard.”

The Range Rover is one of the vehicles used for the estate vineyard tours, a two-hour experience with lunch and wine tasting.

Before beginning our ride, we entered the spacious, modern VIP room, its wide doors opening to Adelaida’s serene woody landscape.

Kuyper poured a splash of the 2022 Moth to Flame Chardonnay, a golden-hued wine exuding a lyrical wave of freshness and a zippy minerality. Its fruit is sourced from the windswept Derbyshire vineyard in San Simeon.

Glass in hand, Kuyper led me to the Kubota for an enchanting ride around the ranch whose steep hillsides, undulating dips and marvelous views make you want to get lost in this forest.

“It’s like a hidden bowl,” commented Kuyper. “It’s really isolated; most people don’t know we’re here.”

A mere 32 acres are planted to vines in the 240-acre ranch ensconced in an otherwise untouched landscape of Manzanitas, oaks, native shrubbery and fossilized rocks. Its elevation ranges from 1,500 to 2,000 feet.

Kuyper headed toward an isolated Manzanita grove, one of the spots for special celebrations and wine dinners. We stopped to take in the tranquility of the vast bowl-shaped grove spread over a 10-acre area. Trees here are 250- to 300-years-old, according to an arborist, Kuyper said. What makes the grove special is its accessibility.

“It’s rare to find a spot where you can actually enjoy yourself in an environment like this,” he noted. “Manzanita are always on a steep slope.”

Kuyper acquired the first parcel of the ranch in 2005 and added the remainder in 2007. There was a residence on the ranch but no other structure or vineyards — just dirt. The original intention in acquiring such a large parcel was to farm, not produce wine.

“I just wanted to plant some grapes to see what happens,” Kuyper explained. “Obviously, Paso is a beautiful community with great weather, so I think that was the attraction.”

We stopped at another spot flanked by Syrah and Grenache vineyards, where Kuyper pulled the 2022 Liquidity out from the wine cooler. We tasted this blend of Syrah and Grenache with ten percent Cabernet Sauvignon in place of Mourvèdre due to its uneven ripening during 2022 harvest. The splash of Cabernet added a backbone to the blend redolent of violet and savory notes and expressive of Paso garrigue.

“I was actually hesitant but it turned out well,” Kuyper commented on the choice of Cabernet in the blend. “The 2022 vintage was tough but ended up being a great vintage for us. That’s what’s interesting about a high elevation.”

As if on cue, a family of red-tailed hawks circled above us, setting the perfect scene for a tasting amidst the vineyards of Hawks Hills Ranch. Heading to the hilltop, Kuyper pointed to ridges enjoying different aspects of sun exposure, slopes and soil types — mainly calcareous and limestone.

Another stop was by the Zinfandel vineyard, much of which has been pulled out to lie fallow for a year. Plans are for a Graciano planting here for blending purposes. “This will add to our spice cabinet for that acid component, which we need.” Future plans also include planting Chenin Blanc.

Here we tasted the 2022 Dark Pool Syrah, which I was told made wine critic Jeb Dunnuck’s top 10 Syrahs of the World list. The seductive nose led to an initial expression of a cool-climate, savory Syrah building up to a sensory explosion of blue fruits and black pepper on the palate and hints of chaparral.

“Which is why we don’t wait too long to pick,” he said of the savory notes. “We would rather pick earlier than later. For us, it’s about nailing that pick.”

A dozen or so picking passes in the Syrah block begin at the top of the hill with the last pick at the bottom. “It’s the same clone, same root stock. The difference is the aspect of sun, soil and the massive diversity of the property. This allows us to get that complexity,” Kuyper asserted.

On our ride-around-the-ranch chat, Kuyper filled me in on his approach to farming. A flock of 200 sheep in the vineyard do the weed control and Clemens tools are used for under-row care.

As for any no-till practice, Kuyper said, “In a perfect world we’d like to do no tilling, but because of the topography, these slopes and the number of rocks, it’s really impossible,” he explained. “Every year new rocks surface and make it very challenging.”

We headed back to the VIP lounge and continued our chat. As he poured the 2022 Fat Finger Cabernet Sauvignon, I asked him his philosophy on wine.

He answered: “We like to be one foot in the New World and one foot in the Old World.” Which he translated as not produce overly extracted or high-alcohol wines.

“We want the vineyard to speak through and not to overly augment. We want balance, the color and all those things, but we want the wine to be a very natural representation of the vineyard,” he stated.

All of that comes through in tasting the textural Cabernet Sauvignon that expressed the complexity of mountain fruit, assertive yet not overwhelming. Waves of dark fruit and cocoa sashay on the palate, balanced with an enticing acidity supported by firm tannins and a lengthy finish.

Such complexity can be found in Paso Robles wines, Kuyper insisted. “I think Paso is one of the unique spots on the planet. To get that phenolic ripeness with acid, this is one of the few places that can do it.”

Kuyper grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Chicago for school and a career in finance, a business which he continues while wearing the vintner’s hat in Paso. In fact, his wine names are an homage to financial terms. Kuyper’s wine appreciation, however, began at home.

“My father served wine at dinner time and holidays, so I had some experience.” During his college years, working at fine restaurants further fueled his exposure to wines. “And that’s where I got my passion.” Later, his trips to California’s wine country grew more frequent, especially to Paso Robles, where his father relocated later in life.

“That solidified it. I knew I wanted to get back to California. I knew I wanted to be rural.” Living in Chicago for over 20 years, he wanted to bring his kids to a rural environment.

“And this was it.”

The kids, in fact, have taken to the business. Daughter Riley is working harvest in New Zealand and son Mack is a chef at Paso’s Le Petite Canailles and has planned a few wine dinners at Hawks Hill Ranch.

Looking back, the city guy admitted his naiveté getting into farming. “I didn’t really know what we were doing at first and as we got more involved, met more people, and focused on quality, we kept moving up,” he explained. Word got out on the fruit quality, which quickly drew buyers.

“That sort of inspired us to make some wine,” Kuyper said. Then he met Anthony Yount (winemaker of Denner Vineyards and his own winery, The Royal Nonesuch Farm). “It just kind of evolved from there. We just grew organically.”

The Hawks Hill Ranch wine portfolio began with Yount making both the white and red wines until Don Burns (owner/winemaker of Turtle Rock Vineyards) joined in 2022 to take over the red wine portfolio.

Burns’ first bud-to-bottle vintage of 2023 was released recently. The lineup of three wines includes Parity Mourvèdre; Limit Up, a Cabernet Sauvignon blend; and Liquidity, a Rhône-style blend. All the wines are produced at Turtle Rock’s winery in Tin City.

The first vintage of 2016 of some 100 cases was for Kuyper a test run. The first commercial release of the 2019 vintage, which was a small 600-case production, has now grown to a annual 2,000 cases. The Adelaida Road tasting room (formerly Lone Madrone’s tasting room) was added in 2022.

Any plans to increase vineyard acreage in the future? I ask.

“I think from a sustainability standpoint, you want to be very careful,” Kuyper answered. He could probably increase another five to ten acres, but he is not sure. “It would depend on the demand and how we grow.”

Spending an afternoon with Kuyper and listening to his admiration for the region, growth could be on the horizon.

“Paso has done a great job maintaining the character and the quality of its community. I love that about the area, and I’m proud to be a part of that.”

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About Mira Honeycutt

Mira Honeycutt, author and journalist has covered California’s wine region for over two decades, specifically Paso Robles. She is the co-author of “Sideways Uncorked: The Perfect Pairing of Film & Wine” and the author of “California’s Central Coast: The Ultimate Winery Guide – From Santa Barbara to Paso Robles.”

She is the curator and writer of “Signature Wines & Wineries of Coastal California,” curator of “The Winemakers of Paso Robles.” She is the host of Wine Country, a segment on the weekly Issues & Ideas show on KCBX FM. Mira also contributes to SLOW Wine Guide USA, Napa Valley Register and Sommelier India Wine Magazine.