Ampelos Vineyard Is Now Groundstar Vineyard

New Owners Change Name, Double Down on Sustainability at Pioneering Biodynamic Sta. Rita Hills Property

Joe Brent & Chiara Shannon (left) purchased Ampelos Vineyard from Rebecca & Peter Work. | Credit: Courtesy

When botanists found a patch of Santa Ynez groundstar two years ago on Vandenberg Space Force Base, the penny-sized plant — which was thought to likely be extinct — turned into an inspirational story of rediscovery and rebirth. There were similar feels in the Santa Barbara wine world last fall, when it was announced that Peter and Rebecca Work were selling their Ampelos Vineyard — the first in the country to be certified as both biodynamic and organic — to Chiara Shannon and Joseph Brent, a couple also hellbent on putting sustainability first.

Now the 25-acre Ampelos is being renamed as Groundstar Vineyard, a direct nod to the surprise success of that tiny native species. “That story really stuck with me,” said Shannon, who’s worked in various facets of the California wine industry — sales, consulting, wellness — for about 20 years. “It’s a great story of resilience, and it combines the ground and the stars, which ties directly to regenerative farming.”

Building upon the Works’ biodynamic ways — which they pioneered in the Sta. Rita Hills two decades ago — Shannon and Brent are intent on getting Groundstar officially certified as a regenerative property. That’s considered the upper tier of earth-friendly farming protocols today, incorporating techniques that support the surrounding ecosystems, sequester carbon, and rebuild soils into healthy, dynamic, and even living organisms. The urge is to be a net benefit to the environment, not just a neutral or not-so-bad farmer.

“We both fully buy into the regenerative culture for farming,” said Brent, an attorney by day. “We believe this is the future. Agriculture has to go in this direction. Hopefully this can make a positive change, because as a society, we are really hurting ourselves.”

To chart that path, they enlisted the services of Jordan Lonborg, who spearheaded the certification parameters while working at Tablas Creek in Paso Robles. “We brought him in as our first move,” said Shannon. After starting to consult with Groundstar in December, Lonborg left Tablas to join the team at Coastal Vineyard Care, whose founder Jeff Newton was a major force in the original Ampelos Vineyard. (The mostly retired Newton can be found occasionally poking around the vineyard again these days too.) The shift to Groundstar also cleared up potential licensing issues and brand confusion down the road, as Peter and Rebecca Work are continuing to make wine — mostly from this vineyard — under the name Ampelos Cellars. Though the plan for now is to sell grapes to other vintners and not make their own wine, the new name opens the door wider for Shannon and Brent to one day do just that, or perhaps launch a line of olive oil or even gin.

When the couple started looking for a wine country getaway more than five years ago, buying a vineyard was not in the plans. Originally from Los Angeles, Shannon went to college and started her wine career in the Bay Area, working in sales while developing her Mindful Wine consulting business and a wellness reputation as “The Yogi Sommelier.” She met Brent in San Francisco, where the Chicago native was working as a personal injury attorney. (He’s developed a knack for fighting SoCal Edison, so his workload just exploded with the likely Eaton Fire cases.)

“When I moved back to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara County was ripe for discovery,” said Shannon of her return in 2014, which led to hosting yoga and wine days at Solminer, Pence, Beckmen, and elsewhere. “It’s kind of hard not to fall in love.”

As their search for a wine country home stalled, they heard about the Ampelos Vineyard being for sale, and everything clicked. They closed on the 82-acre ranch last June, but didn’t take over the vineyard part of the business until after the harvest to avoid confusion with grape clients. The 25 acres of vines are mostly planted to pinot noir but also include syrah, grenache, viognier, and riesling.

It’s been a rocky rather than welcoming few months of getting to know the place. The day they were scheduled to move items from their Eagle Rock home was the day the Eaton Fire broke out. As evacuation warnings were being issued, the movers showed up. “That was tooth-grinding,” said Brent.

Their goal is to be up here every weekend. “It’s become my full-time focus,” said Shannon, who said she’s learning a ton all the time. “This is just so much. It’s like a firehose.”

Brent is very interested in the farming, and is pursuing plans to not till every other row in the vineyard going forward, to prune slightly differently, and to bring back the chickens, with larger livestock coming in the future. Shannon is looking for projects even beyond the vines, perhaps to start a native plant or a monarch butterfly sanctuary. They’re already connecting to likeminded organizations like White Buffalo Land Trust and the Los Padres ForestWatch, whose fundraiser they are hosting on May 4.

“We see the vineyard as part of the bigger picture,” said Shannon. “There are so many cool things we can do, it’s just crazy. It’s not about sitting on the mountain doing it on your own. We want to be welcoming and support others.”

See groundstarvineyard.com.