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Ep 148: Canopy Cowboys: Riding Ripeness & Harvest Hunches from Vintage 2025
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷
 This week we saddle up with the Canopy Cowboys of Alterra Solutions — a vineyard management supergroup shaping some of the most coveted sites in Paso. We’re talking legacy, precision farming, and how to ride ripeness like a pro, and what Paso is learning from Harvest 2025, from the brightest minds farming it.
Recorded at LoBro Studios in Paso Robles, this ep features:
• Kevin Wilkinson (the thinker), founder & vineyard strategist
• Lucas Pope (the kind & sensitive one), VP, sparkling evangelist, and co-founder of Haliotide Wines
• Chris Hammell (token bad boy), vineyard whisperer (formerly Bien Nacido)
We dig into Alterra’s 2025 rebrand from Coastal Vineyard Services and why it signals more than just a name change. It’s a full-circle moment for founder Kevin Wilkinson, who has spent decades shaping the region from behind the scenes. Lucas Pope shares his wild entry into farming, managing vineyards for Silicon Valley’s elite in the hills of Santa Cruz, and how that path eventually led to launching Haliotide, a sparkling wine project with his wife Nicole. Chris Hammell reflects on his years managing Bien Nacido Vineyard, and why his quiet, humble demeanor masks one of the most accomplished vineyard résumés on the West Coast.
Paso Wine Wire
• New Decemil Wine Lounge brings micro-estate Rhône energy to downtown Paso inside the 1888 Grangers Union Building → decemilwines.com
• Garagiste Wine Festival turns 15 — Nov 7–8 at Paso Robles Event Center → garagistefestival.com
• Opolo’s Harvest Grape Stomp Dinner is back Oct 17 — lamb roast, Balkan beats, and stomping galore → opolo.com
Travel Paso Spotlight
This week we check in to Hotel Cheval, the boutique gem of downtown Paso. GM Jayne Christman joins us to talk about warm service, world-class comfort, and what makes Cheval one of Paso’s most beloved places to stay.
• Learn more: hotelcheval.com
• Plan your trip: TravelPaso.com
🎯 Plan your next Paso Robles getaway at TravelPaso.com
🎧 Subscribe & Follow
If you love Where Wine Takes You, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your favorite wine lover.
Where Wine Takes You is Executive Produced by Joel Peterson and Paso Wine
Associate Producer: Krista Smith
Recorded, edited, produced, and hosted by Adam Montiel
📱 Download the free Paso Wine App as your guide to all things wine country.
Â
For the latest in Paso Robles Wine Country, check out PasoWine.com and follow @PasoWine.
Follow Adam on Instagram → @AdamOnTheAir
Listen to Adam’s other shows: Up + Adam (daily podcast) and The Pour (wine, spirits, brews, lifestyle)
Learn more, reach out, or connect at AdamMontiel.com
🎵 Original music by Moonshiner Collective
If you love Where Wine Takes You, subscribe, leave a review, and share it!
©2025 Where Wine Takes You, All Rights Reserved.
Â
View all episodes
By Adam Montiel
5
206206 ratings
🍇 Where Wine Takes You – Episode Highlights 🍷
 This week we saddle up with the Canopy Cowboys of Alterra Solutions — a vineyard management supergroup shaping some of the most coveted sites in Paso. We’re talking legacy, precision farming, and how to ride ripeness like a pro, and what Paso is learning from Harvest 2025, from the brightest minds farming it.
Recorded at LoBro Studios in Paso Robles, this ep features:
• Kevin Wilkinson (the thinker), founder & vineyard strategist
• Lucas Pope (the kind & sensitive one), VP, sparkling evangelist, and co-founder of Haliotide Wines
• Chris Hammell (token bad boy), vineyard whisperer (formerly Bien Nacido)
We dig into Alterra’s 2025 rebrand from Coastal Vineyard Services and why it signals more than just a name change. It’s a full-circle moment for founder Kevin Wilkinson, who has spent decades shaping the region from behind the scenes. Lucas Pope shares his wild entry into farming, managing vineyards for Silicon Valley’s elite in the hills of Santa Cruz, and how that path eventually led to launching Haliotide, a sparkling wine project with his wife Nicole. Chris Hammell reflects on his years managing Bien Nacido Vineyard, and why his quiet, humble demeanor masks one of the most accomplished vineyard résumés on the West Coast.
Paso Wine Wire
• New Decemil Wine Lounge brings micro-estate Rhône energy to downtown Paso inside the 1888 Grangers Union Building → decemilwines.com
• Garagiste Wine Festival turns 15 — Nov 7–8 at Paso Robles Event Center → garagistefestival.com
• Opolo’s Harvest Grape Stomp Dinner is back Oct 17 — lamb roast, Balkan beats, and stomping galore → opolo.com
Travel Paso Spotlight
This week we check in to Hotel Cheval, the boutique gem of downtown Paso. GM Jayne Christman joins us to talk about warm service, world-class comfort, and what makes Cheval one of Paso’s most beloved places to stay.
• Learn more: hotelcheval.com
• Plan your trip: TravelPaso.com
🎯 Plan your next Paso Robles getaway at TravelPaso.com
🎧 Subscribe & Follow
If you love Where Wine Takes You, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with your favorite wine lover.
Where Wine Takes You is Executive Produced by Joel Peterson and Paso Wine
Associate Producer: Krista Smith
Recorded, edited, produced, and hosted by Adam Montiel
📱 Download the free Paso Wine App as your guide to all things wine country.
Â
For the latest in Paso Robles Wine Country, check out PasoWine.com and follow @PasoWine.
Follow Adam on Instagram → @AdamOnTheAir
Listen to Adam’s other shows: Up + Adam (daily podcast) and The Pour (wine, spirits, brews, lifestyle)
Learn more, reach out, or connect at AdamMontiel.com
🎵 Original music by Moonshiner Collective
If you love Where Wine Takes You, subscribe, leave a review, and share it!
©2025 Where Wine Takes You, All Rights Reserved.
Â
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