— Will Henry and Kali Kopley, Co-Owners of Santa Ynez Valley Restaurant, Wine Bar and Wine Retail Space, PICO, Join Forces with “The Black Sheep” Owners to Expand PICO’s Wine Retail Business and Launch Second Tasting Location for Henry’s “Lumen Wines” Label —
June 14, 2018 – Santa Barbara, CA – On the heels of the announcement of Wine Enthusiast’s ‘100 Best Wine Restaurants’ for 2018, new-to-the-list PICO at The Los Alamos General Store, Los Alamos, California restaurant, wine bar and wine retail space, has opened a second Santa Barbara County wine venture, The Wine Shepherd. Located in the Presidio Neighborhood of downtown Santa Barbara, the new wine bar, wine shop and tasting room from PICO’s co-owners, Will Henry and Kali Kopley, and the ownership of neighboring Santa Barbara restaurant, The Black Sheep, serves as an extension of PICO’s current wine retail platform, as well as a second tasting room location for Henry’s wine label, Lumen Wines, co-owned by female Santa Barbara County winemaking pioneer, Lane Tanner.
Now officially open, The Wine Shepherd – a play on next-door restaurant, The Black Sheep – displays a wide array of local, domestic and international wines for sale, as well as a carefully-curated list of beer and cider, in an intimate 800 square foot area. Housed in the former Seagrass Restaurant space, The Wine Shepherd’s urbane ambiance greets guests with a tasting bar built by Henry himself, at which a selection of 14 or more wines by the glass – plus beer and cider – are available, as well as Lumen Wines tasting flights. The Wine Shepherd also offers competitive pricing on bottles “to go”, affording guests the opportunity to enjoy a bottle at the bar for the same cost as take-home retail, without additional service charges.
PICO, which opened in early 2016 in the Santa Ynez Valley, in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country, added to Los Alamos’ now-booming culinary scene a sense of place and history, family and intimacy, intertwined with a thoughtful wine program and elevated, but comfortable, locavore dining. The PICO team of Henry, Kopley and Chef Drew Terp, brought to PICO more than three decades in the wine, food and hospitality industries.
“We have a 2,000-bottle wine inventory at PICO, available to enjoy at the bar, in the restaurant, or for purchase to take with you…with The Wine Shepherd, we’re simply sharing PICO’s unparalleled wine selection with a greater portion of Santa Barbara County,” said Will Henry, PICO at the Los Alamos General Store co-owner, and co-owner of The Wine Shepherd.
Henry’s inherent roots in the wine world provide an optimal foundation for the wine programs at both PICO and The Wine Shepherd: Henry’s father, Warner Henry, founded The Henry Wine Group import, wholesale and broker empire.
Will Henry’s real-world wine schooling took the form of post-college work at Leeuwin Estate in the Margaret River wine region of Australia, followed by a return to the family business. Upon his return to the wine industry, and to The Henry Wine Group, Henry served as vice president of business development, concentrating on brand management. In 2012, he put that line of work to use on his own wine label, partnering with trailblazing Santa Barbara County winemaker, Lane Tanner, to launch Lumen Wines. Henry subsequently started another Central Coast wine project, Nuclear Wine Company, through which he produces wine in 12-ounce cans.
With a string of hits in the food and wine world, Kopley is owner-founder of five different establishments in North Lake Tahoe, California: three Uncorked wine bar locations, Soupa restaurant, and Petra, a wine-inspired restaurant in Northstar. As a restaurateur, Kopley was a customer of The Henry Wine Group, which led to her introduction to Will Henry.
Kopley added, “The Wine Shepherd marks the seventh wine-related business in which I’ve recently had a hand in launching, and is modeled after some of my Tahoe-area businesses. We have such a loyal PICO following…and many of our friends and fans make the drive from Santa Barbara to Los Alamos. The Wine Shepherd will give them just a taste of what PICO has to offer, but closer to home.”
Henry continued, “We will offer a large selection of wines from around the world, as well as a healthy representation of local heroes. As we do at PICO, we will focus on small production, family-owned producers and obscure, hard-to-get wines, plus old vintage rarities and gems.”
Henry and Kopley chose The Wine Shepherd’s new home after forming a friendship with The Black Sheep’s family of owners, Chef Robert Perez and his son, Ruben.
“We have always loved what the Perez family has done with The Black Sheep. Kali was also a patron and huge fan of their former Nevada City restaurant, Citronée,” said Henry, who continued, “We intend this to be a partnership with them that will both enhance the wine experience that we’ll offer, and augment The Black Sheep’s existing wine program.”
The Wine Shepherd is located at 30 E. Ortega Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (on the corner of Ortega and Anacapa Streets, across from Paradise Cafe). The current shop and wine bar hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Public and street parking is available in the immediate area.
The Wine Shepherd will be hosting both regularly-running and special events, which will be posted to the business web site at WineShepherdSB.com, and to instagram.com/WineShepherdSB.
PICO at the Los Alamos General Store is located at 458 Bell Street, Los Alamos, CA 93440. The Lumen Tasting Room and Wine Bar hours are Tuesday through Thursday, 3:00 PM to 9:00 PM; Friday and Saturday, 12:00 PM to 10:00 PM; and Sunday, 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM. PICO’s restaurant hours are Tuesday through Sunday, from 5:00 PM. Free street parking is available. To reach PICO directly, please call 805.344.1122. PICO is on-line at www.losalamosgeneralstore.com, instagram.com/picolosalamos and facebook.com/losalamosgeneralstore.
