Winemaking Team

Photograph of the winemaker in front of barrels

Terry Culton
Consulting Winemaker

Terry Culton has been making acclaimed wines for over 20 years. His early story is one of many great Mentors... beginning with Ken Volk at Wild Horse. Ken is one of the true Mavericks of the Central Coast, starting Wild Horse when there were only a handful of wineries in the area. Ken's generosity, skill, and passion for wine helped launch the ship.... the Muse of Pinot Noir set Terry off on his Odyssey along the West Coast.

Terry traveled on the “Pinot Trail” working in the Anderson Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley before moving to Hollister to work with the iconic Josh Jensen at Calera. Josh is a visionary of Pinot Noir. He pioneered the varietal in the United States and has created some of the most inspired and exciting wines from those plantings.

Drawn by the Siren Song of Old-Vine Pinot Noir, Terry left Calera and returned to Paso Robles to work with HMR’s (Hoffman Mountain Ranch) vast plantings of Rhone Varietals. For 10 years, he honed his unique style of vineyard-driven, well-balanced wines. In the search for greater creative freedom, it was time to launch Culton Wines. With a Pinot Noir heart and a Rhone soul, Terry produced all Culton wines from ultra-premium Central Coast grapes. Hand-made in small lots and unfiltered, the results are elegant and food-friendly manifestations of terroir.

In his first year at Le Vigne, he received 98 points and a double gold award from Sunset Magazine for our Le Vigne Paso 2019 Rosé of Sangiovese. Le Vigne is looking forward to what Terry brings in terms of creativity and experience to our Estate wines.

Winemaking Contact:

Chris Rougeot
Winemaker
c.rougeot@levignewinery.com