(Wines&Vines) - What do you do when you’re a small (but rapidly growing) winery in Virginia and you need more grapes? After opening Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton in January 2010, owner Kirk Wiles had increased sales from 1,300 cases to more than 12,000 cases by 2013. Wiles wanted a supply of high-quality fruit to meet the growing demand for his wines, but growth in the number of Virginia wineries has not been matched by an increased number of vineyards to supply them, much less the existing wineries that have increased their sales.

On a trip to Santa Barbara, Calif., in February 2014, Wiles came up with the answer: open a second Paradise Springs winery in the Santa Barbara area. Grapes grown in the region, especially the Pinot Noirs and Sauvignon Blancs, would add diversification to the winery’s portfolio of Virginia wines and allow Paradise Springs to continue expanding sales in Virginia. Through one contact leading to the next contact, Wiles met Doug Margerum, owner of Margerum Wine Co. in Buellton, Calif. Margerum agreed to act as lead consultant and to make the wine at a winemaking facility shared by three wineries (including Margerum Wine Co.) in Buellton. Rob Cox, head winemaker of Paradise Springs in Virginia, is the executive winemaker for the Santa Barbara operation, and Wiles is the overall manager of the project.

Paradise Springs Santa Barbara was officially formed in summer 2014 and licensed by the state of California. Margerum and Cox produced two wines during the 2014 vintage: 285 cases of Sauvignon Blanc from Happy Canyon in the Santa Barbara AVA and 320 cases of Pinot Noir from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The wines can be ordered through the Paradise Springs website, and Wiles plans to place them in the wholesale market in Virginia.