Kyle Knapp is the winemaker and co-founder of Press Gang Cellars in Santa Barbara County, CA. He was born and raised in Lompoc, California. He launched the brand with his wife, Savanna, in 2010. He discovered winemaking while managing a meat department in Los Olivos, leading to a harvest position at Beckman Vineyards in 2005. He went on to work harvests in Western Australia and Santa Barbara County before joining Palmina Winery and returning to Beckman as assistant winemaker in 2011.
In 2016, Kyle became head winemaker at Stolpman Vineyards, where he continues to lead winemaking while building Press Gang. His wines reflect a commitment to minimal intervention, additive-free winemaking, and honest expression of the vineyard. Outside the winery, Kyle enjoys surfing, skateboarding, and hockey. He and Savanna live in Lompoc with their two children.
Media Inquiries: Jessee Ring jbrvineyards@gmail.com | https://pressgangcellars.com/
What’s the ONE THING most unique, authentic, & memorable about your brand?
We keep it real. My intention when making wine is this. Quality organic grapes. Purity is key, and less is more. Layer complexity. Let’s break it down. Using organic grapes from farmers who care for the land the vines are grown on matters. Purity means minimal to zero additions to keep the wines at their most pure state. I love layering complexity in wines; the way I do that is from multiple picks so you have early picks when fruit has less sugar and more acid combined with later picks when fruit has more flavor development, higher sugar and moderate acid. Non of this is unique, but these are top of mind to me.
Describe how and what you’d do with your winemaking career or winery business if you were not constrained.
This is something I have thought of since the earliest years in the industry. I’d love to have a winery/ tasting room in a public market-type space that is designed as a skate park, meaning every aspect of the design was intended to be skated. The idea is to have a family-friendly open space that welcomes skateboarders of all ages and levels of experience. The tree planters, curbs, ledges and walls are all meant to be skated. The space would have a park, restaurants, and be beautifully landscaped.
What is the One Wine most emblematic of your brand and/or winemaking style? Tell us its story.
If you had to try just one wine? I think one of the most unique wines we offer is our Trash Fire wine. The name was born out of the Covid 19 pandemic – it was a way to make light of the situation, so the first bottling was shipped out to the wine club to enjoy during the first stay-in-place quarantine.
It’s a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Grenache made with organically grown grapes, and is a whole-cluster co-ferment made like a red wine, meaning during fermentation we perform pump-overs and punch-downs and really work the cap. It’s a fun, light, and refreshing wine. It’s actually a centuries-old method that’s been done in France, Spain, and Portugal, among other countries. Check out my review of this fascinating Chardonnay-Grenache blend.
Bonus Question: One thing people would be surprised to learn about me.
I was attacked by a great white shark while surfing near my home in 2008, on September 8th, 2008. I was featured on Shark Week because of the incident. If you go to the incident log on the Shark Research Institute website, you will see the stats from the incident. I can give you the entire encounter if you’d like: https://www.sharkattackfile.net/incidentlog.htm