Alisa “AJ” Jacobson is the winemaker at Turning Tides Wines in Santa Ynez, CA. She is a Northern California native raised in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta; she grew up farming, raising livestock, and working in orchards and vineyards—shaping her commitment to stewardship and sustainability.
After earning a degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis, she gained experience in sparkling wine and international winemaking before becoming the first employee at Joel Gott Wines, where she rose to Vice President of Winemaking and helped build the brand globally.
In 2018, AJ founded Turning Tide Wines, a women-owned winery focused on the belief that great wine begins with healthy land. Now based on California’s Central Coast, she leads CCOF-certified organic production, crafting balanced, expressive wines shaped by coastal influence. She is an active industry leader and advocates for sustainability and climate-focused solutions in the wine world. Media Inquiries: alisajacobson@gmail.com | https://www.turningtidewines.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique & memorable about your winery brand?
I spent nearly 30 years building a winemaking career across four continents, eventually becoming VP of Winemaking at Joel Gott Wines. That role gave me a strong technical foundation, but it also showed me what I wanted to build for myself instead. Leaving that stability behind to start my own operation was a real pivot, trading a known brand for the slower work of building something from scratch, on my own terms.
That shift shows up directly in what I built. Turning Tide Wines is CCOF-certified organic and women-owned. It reflects how I believe wine should be made: with respect for the land, minimal intervention, and a long-term view instead of a short-term one. Running a winery focused on organic and sustainable practices, as a woman, still isn’t the norm in this industry. That’s part of why it resonates. It proves the traditional path isn’t the only one that leads somewhere real.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained. Sky’s the limit!
If I weren’t constrained by any of it, I’d put everything toward building Santa Barbara into a region known worldwide for sustainable, organic viticulture. Not just my own vineyards, but the whole area. More CCOF-certified vineyards, more SIP-certified growers, more farmers willing to make that shift. I’d want to prove, at scale, that the Central Coast can produce something world-class while doing right by the land at the same time. Right now that work happens property by property, grower by grower. Without constraints, I’d want to accelerate it across the entire region, so Santa Barbara becomes known not just for what’s in the glass, but for how it got there.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and winemaking style? Tell us its story.
I have made a lot of Sauvignon Blanc in my career, but at Turning Tide Wines I got to make a certified Organic by CCOF Sauvignon Blanc that embodied exactly what I set out to create – some tropical, some lemongrass, and bright acidity, the perfect balance. Read my review of this sustainably produced wine here.
Bonus Question: What are your wholehearted convictions related to the wine business?
I make wine in Oregon and California, and it gives me perspective that goes beyond one region. I work with the Unified Grape and Wine Symposium and the Smoke Exposure Task Force because I want to help educate our community, especially the younger generation, as a rising tide lifts all boats.