Dubroff: Sunstone is reimagining the 21st-century winery
Teddy Cabugos III is meeting the mocktail moment.
He and his wife, Djamila, are reinventing Sunstone Winery with a series of strategic moves designed to position the Santa Ynez Valley landmark for a new era in the wine business.
The wine industry is being transformed, he told me in a phone interview on Sept. 22. “Not only in the way people consume alcohol but in the way they think about the wine experience.”
For 35-year-old Sunstone, which Cabugos and his wife have owned since 2019, that means rolling out a new non-alcoholic beverage, changing the way their iconic property operates and expanding into Montecito.
Marketing all of those changes to the public, to event venues and meeting planners will be part of the plan, he said, adding that a new website is in the final stages of design, with rollout expected in October.
Sunstone’s 21st-Century approach is starting to get recognized. It picked up hardware at the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber awards earlier this year and there’s likely more recognition to come. Getting recognition from the Chamber for innovation was a first for a winery, he beamed.
A central part of that evolution is Sunstone Elixir, formerly Sunstone Solis, and what Cabugos calls a “wellness beverage” that’s being sold in places like the O Bar at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara as a premium mocktail, giving a sophisticated experience for people who are drinking less alcohol or choosing not to drink.
Sunstone is also pursuing county approval for food service, which would give the team greater control over the guest experience from beginning to end. Managing food service directly, rather than relying on outside providers, would help ensure the same standard of care and hospitality throughout each visit.
“The focus is the guest experience,” he said.
Sunstone Elixir, which gets its color from juice from Washington-grown blueberries, is also being sold at retail stores as a luxury beverage. “It looks beautiful in a glass,” he said, and for wineries, it will add a new product for the growing number of people who love to visit wineries but simply don’t drink.
Sunstone’s relationship with The Ritz-Carlton Bacara has helped Cabugos develop relationships with Marriott’s luxury group and its properties, opening opportunities to expand Sunstone Elixir distribution across that channel.
Sunstone Elixir was featured recently at an Emmys pre-party at The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles, the partner hotel for the Emmys. The beverage is also being sold at that property and the neighboring JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE.
Cabugos has high hopes for new distribution deals via a relationship with the Anaheim Westin at the gateway to its convention center, home of large food-and-beverage-oriented events.
“We’re the first winery with a wellness beverage underneath the same brand,” he said. Having the wellness beverage enables Sunstone to reach its luxury cocktail market and the mass market at retail, without the heavy regulatory burdens of creating and selling alcohol-based products, he added.
Sunstone Elixir gives hotels, bars and restaurants a foundation for premium functional mocktails, with pricing determined by the venue and preparation. For operators, the opportunity is to offer a sophisticated nonalcoholic drink that supports beverage revenue while meeting changing preferences.
By creating a luxury non-alcoholic beverage, Cabugos has positioned Sunstone Elixir to command the $20-plus price tag that comes with premium cocktails at upscale bars for single servings — prices that are individually set by each establishment. That gives bars and restaurants a cocktail-like alternative without sacrificing revenue. At retail, a single serving can go for around $6, he said.
To bring the reinvented Sunstone to the South Coast, Cabugos recently opened a tasting room in Montecito, close to the Montecito Inn and Lucky’s. That was a deliberate decision to reach an upscale audience, he told me.
Cabugos and Djamila have been paying their dues, being active in regional tourism, business and agriculture. Cabugos serves on the boards of the California Travel Association and the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, as well as Santa Barbara County’s Farm Stay Committee, while Djamila serves on the Santa Barbara Agriculture Committee and the UCSB Economic Forecast Board.
He’s bullish on the Central Coast’s prospects in an era of rapid change in the winery business, especially given its broader tourism appeal. “Napa is in serious trouble,” he said, because of its reliance on wine to drive destination tourists.
But the Central Coast has beach and mountain experiences as well as an identity associated with higher-quality wines and an outdoor lifestyle, he said. So people who visit Santa Barbara come for reasons other than wine, allowing the opportunity for wineries to become part of a larger hospitality itinerary.
“Santa Barbara has a massive advantage,” he said. “We can figure this out.”
Henry Dubroff is the founder, owner and editor of the Pacific Coast Business Times. He can be reached at [email protected].
