History is trading hands in Lompoc, as pioneering vintners Rick and Diana Longoria are selling their eponymous brand — complete with winemaking facilities, tasting room, equipment, offices, and inventory — to Brooke and Lindsey Christian, who are moving from Washington, D.C., to Santa Barbara this week. By maintaining the Longoria Wines name, keeping Rick on staff for the next 18 months, and hiring a full-time winemaker that he endorses, the Christians intend to build awareness around the brand and expand into other locations while further elevating attention for all Santa Barbara County wineries.
“I respect what he’s done over the years, and it seems like that respect carries over for lots of people who are making wine in the region — I really like that,” said Brooke Christian, who worked for the translation company TransPerfect for more than 20 years and is founder and chair of the decade-old Key West Film Festival. “My intention is not to fix what isn’t broken, but to do the things that I’ve been successful at in my career — just helping to develop the brand and the awareness of the brand.”
The sale is a relief for the Longorias, who put their winery on the market in 2020 only to then endure years of the COVID pandemic. Neither of their children — daughter married to a respected brewer in Salt Lake City; son a well-drilling specialist in Santa Barbara County — were interested in keeping the winery, and now the Longorias can focus on being grandparents to their three grandchildren.