Lompoc, CA (October 24, 2014) – Winemaker Norm Yost’s interview with Brian Watt, Business and Economics Reporter for KPCC, was aired today on NPR’s Take Two. Flying Goat Cellars embodies the fledgling Santa Barbara County winemaking industry that benefitted from the international popularity of the film “Sideways.” With the boon in Pinot Noir sales after the film released in 2004, Flying Goat Cellars brand identity soared. Yet, winemaker Norm Yost wisely focused on brand evolution to distinguish Flying Goat from other Pinot producers. He carved out a niche market with his first vintage of Goat Bubbles in 2005, and now produces four expressions of sparkling wine.
In the NPR piece, “’Sideways’: Ten years later, hit film still makes waves in Santa Ynez Valley economy,” Watt interviews business owners and economic development specialists in the region where the film is set and illustrates how the area continues to feel its impact. Watt reports in his web edition of the story, “Yost began making his own Pinot Noir in Lompoc four years before ‘Sideways’ put the town and its wine on the map. He started small by himself, producing about 500 cases a year. After ‘Sideways,’ that jumped to 1200 cases, and his winery doesn’t even appear in the film. Today, Flying Goat has 5 employees, a tasting room, and makes 3500 cases a year.”
Former City of Lompoc Economic Development Manager Kate Griffith recalls in her interview with Watt, “Once this movie came along, and we had people all over the world recognizing the Central Coast, Santa Barbara County and Santa Rita Hills in particular was producing phenomenal wines, it was easier to go out and promote the city of Lompoc.” The industrial park where winemaking began in town became affectionately known as the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. Griffith explains, “The name embraced the nonglamorous side of wine-making: ‘the antithesis of any kind of chateau’” but she notes, “The real name we should be embracing now is the ‘Lompoc Wine Mecca.’” Griffith eventually married Norm Yost and became co-proprietor of Flying Goat Cellars.
Flying Goat Cellars has been handcrafting vineyard designated Pinot Noir since 2000 and sparkling wine since 2005. Winemaker/Proprietor Norm Yost has over 34 years in the industry. Contact Chief Philosopher/Proprietor Kate Griffith at 805-736-9032 or marketing@flyinggoatcellars.com for more information.
