Victor Gallegos is a most unusual vintner, a Californian with one foot firmly planted in the Pinot Noir-producing Sta. Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County, and the other in Priorat, that rugged, schist-strewn region in eastern Spain. Priorat and Pinot Noir seemingly have little in common other than starting with the letter “P,” yet Gallegos finds passion in both.
He’s a fit, energetic man, a 1986 UC Davis viticulture graduate with an MBA from UC Berkeley and experience in marketing with IDV Wines, now Diageo. He oversees viticulture, operations, sales, finance and marketing for Sea Smoke, which produces...