Alexander & Wayne is in Los Olivos, located next door to the Arthur Earl tasting room - both wineries are owned by Arthur “Art” White and Earl Brockelsby. Alexander & Wayne was founded first, in 1992, when the two friends and computer industry co-workers decided to change careers and become vintners.

At Alexander & Wayne, Art and Earl produce a wide variety of wines, mostly traditional California varieties such as those found in the Burgundy and Bordeaux regions of France, as well as an array of dessert wines. Most of the selection are single-vineyard wines made from grapes purchased from select local growers with whom Alexander & Wayne have had long-standing relationships.

Art is the winemaker and likes what he calls “fruit-forward, full-bodied red wines and fresh, easy-drinking whites.” He takes the minimalist approach to winemaking, letting the individual character of the grapes determine the aromas, flavors and character of the wine: “My job is to find and purchase excellent fruit, then let the natural product come through,” Art explains. “In the winery, I avoid doing anything that detracts from what nature and our growers have provided us.” Using his “natural,” hands-off technique, Art estimates that he “intervenes” in the winemaking process “no more than 10 percent of the time, to ensure consistency. Ninety percent of what’s in the bottle is a reflection of what came from the vineyard.”

Art and Earl are proud that Alexander & Wayne sells 98 percent of its wine directly to the consumer, through their tasting room and wine club. The two friends’ approach to merchandising their vintages mirror Art’s unadorned, common sense style of making wine: “We want our customers to buy our wine because they tasted it and liked it,” the partners agree. For that reason, Alexander & Wayne wines have never been entered in competitions or rated by wine critics. Alexander & Wayne wine is served in several local restaurants whose proprietors tasted Art and Earl’s wine, liked them, and decided to feature Alexander & Wayne on their wine lists.

Art and Earl invite wine aficionados to visit their Los Olivos tasting room to enjoy the taste of Italy, France, Spain and classic California with their hats on or off . . . standing or on their knees.