Luna Hart Wines

Owner and winemaker Gretchen Voelcker makes Luna Hart Wines in Ballard Canyon, within California’s Santa Ynez Valley, pairing small-batch production with private tastings overlooking the vineyard. Her background combines French winemaking experience, plant science studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and work at Rideau Vineyard. At Piazza Bella Vista, she makes both Luna Hart Wines and Piazza Family Wines.

Luna Hart gives Voelcker room to experiment rather than follow a fixed house formula. She sources grapes from Santa Barbara County vineyards practicing sustainable, organic, or biodynamic farming, working with minimal intervention and an emphasis on bright acidity. Some white wines spend time in contact with their grape skins, adding texture; for reds, careful handling of the fruit builds tannin, the structure that gives wine its drying grip. The focus is on small lots and different winemaking approaches rather than a single signature grape.

Visits are private and available daily by advance appointment, with a winemaking team member guiding tastings beneath pepper trees facing the vineyard. For travelers interested in more than the glass, the vineyard tasting and tour pairs a walk through Bella Vista Vineyard with Voelcker and a tasting back at the winery.