Jody Brix Towe and Emily Towe got their start as volunteer harvest interns after a single bottle of Pinot Noir changed how they thought about wine. J. Brix is the small, family-made label that grew out of that obsession.
Backstory
The married couple began making wine in their garage in 2009 and moved into a warehouse facility around 2013, working for years out of Escondido in San Diego's North County before relocating. They deliberately keep the operation small, making tiny quantities of as many different wines as they can and trying to add a new grape or style with almost every harvest.
The Region
J. Brix is rooted in San Diego County, with a tasting room in the San Marcos area, but the fruit comes from across California. The Towes seek out small plots of interesting grapes at vineyards all over the state to make small lots of non-interventionist wine.
Vineyards & Farming
Rather than farming a single estate, J. Brix partners with growers and works with grapes including Pinot Noir, Grenache, Riesling and Chenin Blanc, choosing sites and varieties that excite them each year.
Winemaking
The wines are fermented with native yeast in neutral vessels. The Towes choose not to fine, filter or cold-stabilize their wines, and use sulfur dioxide only as necessary, with the stated philosophy of adding nothing else.
The Wines
J. Brix can make as many as sixteen different wines in a year, with a reputation for petillant naturel sparklers, including Riesling and Chenin Blanc pet-nats, and skin-contact whites alongside their reds.
