Aztec Owned: Artiste Winery

A hopeful filmmaker turned craft winemaker, Bion Rice has built a winery where art is on the label and also reflected in the taste.

By Taylor Harris

BION RICE (’94) GREW UP LISTENING TO STORIES about generations of grandfathers before him picking grapes under the California sun. Even with wine country in his backyard, the Santa Barbara native didn’t envision that life for himself: He had other ambitions. 

Rice’s parents, however, were still very much carrying on the family tradition. In 1990, when Rice was a first-year student at SDSU, Fred and Linda Rice purchased a 52-acre ranch in Santa Ynez, the heart of Santa Barbara wine country. The 28-acre vineyard would later become Sunstone Winery. While home for Thanksgiving break a couple of years later, Rice helped his father ferment grapes for the family’s first vintage. Come summertime, he would work at the vineyard and winery, helping to build the caves and buildings. 

But despite the lineage and memorable summers, Rice still wasn’t sold. He had dreams of becoming the next Steven Spielberg. After graduating with a liberal studies degree in 1994, he pursued filmmaking in Los Angeles. 

With an idea to film a documentary about the winemaking in Santa Barbara, Rice worked with local wineries and volunteer crew members to produce “Vintage Santa Barbara.” The goal was to educate viewers about why the region and culture were so unique. 

“During the show’s production, I got the wine bug,” Rice says. “I thought, Wow, these people really have an amazing lifestyle and are so passionate. And I just took that as a natural segue.” 

Inspired and reconnected to his roots, Rice returned to work at his family’s winery. In 1997, after Sunstone’s head winemaker left in the middle of harvest, Rice jumped in to complete the vintage, one that would become the best of the decade in California. It was then that Rice took over as the family’s head winemaker, with guidance from consulting winemaker, Daniel Gehrs. 

“He taught me the tricks of the trade, what I call the black magic that you cannot read in books,” Rice says. 

Through Gehrs’ mentorship, the two explored countless tastings, crafted innovative blends and honed the signature character of Sunstone’s wines. Now retired, Gehrs still recalls Rice’s early ambition for the craft. 

“Bion was always listening intently to my advice and our discussions about how Sunstone’s wines were evolving into a distinctive niche and style all its own,” Gehrs says. “He was especially interested in the art of blending, and we spent many sessions tasting and composing new blends and assessing their component qualities for future bottlings.” 

That same year, Rice partnered with renowned Santa Barbara artist James Paul Brown to produce a wine called Eros, featuring Brown’s artwork on the label. After Eros sold out quickly, Rice released another art-inspired wine blend called Artiste in 1999. When it sold out just as quickly, it affirmed to Rice that there was something special in this fusion
of visual storytelling and sensory experience. 

And so in 2002, Artiste Winery was born. 

Since, Artiste has collaborated with artists nationwide, curating a rotating collection of artwork every quarter. Each season, four new pieces of art are selected and transformed into limited-edition wine labels. But it’s not just about putting art on a bottle, Rice says, it’s about letting the art inspire what’s inside.  

“I look at the art and whatever the story or emotion is that I invoke from the piece, I translate that into aroma, flavor and mouthfeel,” Rice says. “The art is the recipe.” 

Artiste Winery, where Rice’s wife, Anna Rice, serves as creative director, has released more than 350 original blends, each one paired with a unique work of art. The wines are crafted in small, high-quality batches, designed to be experienced, savored and shared. Specializing in art-inspired blends, most of the bottles are nonvintage. 

“I believe young wine, when blended with the grace of aged wine, gives you the best of both worlds, vibrant freshness with layers of complexity,” Rice says. 

When he’s not at the winery, Rice is spending time with Anna and their two sons, Miles and Mason, traveling to Europe whenever they can, to appreciate the craft where it came from. 

And while there isn’t a next winemaker in training for now, Rice has made sure both of his sons’ palates are well developed, so they can at least appreciate a good glass of wine.

Check out Artiste Winery!

1095A Edison St.
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
805-686-2626
www.artiste.com