Austin Hope, Director of Winemaking, Hope Family Wines, Paso Robles Ca.

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  Austin Hope is a winemaker for a new generation. Having spent his childhood among his family’s vines in Paso Robles, he’s right at home talking about grapes, the Paso Robles community and his responsibility as the head of one of the largest family-owned and operated wineries in the area. He is equally at home dishing about music and pop culture as he is about wine, and he embodies the Gen-X ideal in all its contradictions: a work hard, play hard philosophy for life, a demanding career he is passionate about and at home in a laid-back agricultural community.

  Hope came to Paso Robles with his family in 1978, when his parents bought a ranch and planted both vineyards and apple orchards. He was just eight years old when the grapes came on line in 1980s and began playing and learning in the vineyards alongside his father, Chuck Hope.

  The Hope family began producing Liberty School wines in 1995 and, according to Austin, “we gave it a sense of place and a home, and that’s what we’ve been doing ever since.”  Together with Wagner, the Hopes launched Treana in 1996, and Austin worked alongside Winemaker Chris Phelps, formerly of Dominus, as Assistant Winemaker. In 1998, Austin became Winemaker for the Hope portfolio, which now includes Treana, Liberty School, Candor, Troublemaker and Austin Hope wines. In 2009, Austin Hope was named “Winemaker of the Year” at the California Mid-State Fair.