When Mike Roth and Craig Winchester founded Lo-Fi Wines with their first 60 cases in 2012, they borrowed their label's name from an audio term for recordings that embrace warmth and imperfection over clinical polish. The analogy holds: Lo-Fi wines are made to be opened, not collected, and they carry the clicks and pops of a vintage honestly expressed.
Backstory
Roth, a New Jersey native, studied viticulture at Fresno State and worked stints at Grgich Hills and Coquelicot Estate Vineyard in Santa Barbara before launching Lo-Fi with his college friend Craig Winchester. The label officially released wines starting in 2013-2014, and today operates out of Los Alamos, at 448 Bell Street in Santa Barbara County, producing around 3,000 cases per year.
The Region
Santa Barbara County's diverse geography — from the fog-cooled Santa Rita Hills to the warmer Santa Ynez Valley and the growing Los Alamos district — gives Lo-Fi access to a wide range of vineyard characters within a compact area. Transverse mountain ranges funnel cold Pacific air inland, slowing ripening and preserving natural acidity.
Vineyards & Farming
Roth and Winchester source exclusively from certified organic and biodynamic vineyards, including Coquelicot Estate, Honey Bear Orchard, Jurassic Park, Clos Mullet, North Canyon, and Riverbench, all within Santa Barbara County. All fruit is hand-harvested. Roth also owns a three-acre estate block in Los Alamos planted mainly to Cabernet Franc.
Winemaking
Lo-Fi adds nothing: no commercial yeasts, no nutrients, no enzymes, no acidifiers, no tannins. Fermentation is driven entirely by indigenous yeasts. Reds favor whole-cluster fermentation and full carbonic maceration for Gamay and Cabernet Franc. Vessels include neutral French oak barrels, concrete tanks, and amphorae. A small addition of sulfur — approximately 35 ppm — is made prior to bottling only, and wines are never filtered or fined.
The Wines
The portfolio spans a range of varieties not typically associated with Santa Barbara: Albariño, Chenin Blanc, Arinto, Pinot Gris, Gamay, Cabernet Franc, Mencia, and Trousseau, alongside Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Whites typically age around six months before release. The range rewards everyday drinking and food pairing rather than cellaring.
