From Garage to North County
In 2009, Jody and Emily Towe turned their San Diego garage into a micro-winery, made a few barrels of wine, and discovered they couldn't stop. Fifteen years later, they are the only natural winery and tasting room in North County, making 17+ wines from Santa Barbara to San Diego, with kids who grew up punching down grapes and a motto that guides everything: Only Love.
A Bottle of Pinot, Two Kids, & a Garage
Jody and Emily Towe were San Diegans who enjoyed wine but had never considered making it. Then, about fifteen years ago, they tasted a bottle of Pinot Noir from a vineyard in Santa Maria Valley — and something shifted. "There was something about that wine that grabbed us both with a very insistent sense of, 'You need to go to this place,'" Emily recalls [^280^].
They looked up the producer, visited, and "it felt like home." They became friends with the winemakers and cellar crew, volunteered during harvest, worked 16-hour days "covered head to toe in sticky grape juice (and earwigs)," and couldn't get enough. They wanted to try it themselves — so they got barrels and fruit from their Santa Barbara friends, turned their garage into a micro-winery, and made their first wine in 2009 [^280^][^283^].
The kids came along for everything. "We would take the kids with us almost everywhere, to vineyards, to wineries, to late night dinners with winemakers," Emily says. "Our kids would do the punchdowns... it was just a part of life." Their daughter Talia later made her own "tt" Grenache vin gris for an 8th-grade project. Their son Elijah tasted a drip of Riesling and declared they had to make it because he liked it better than ice cream — "The rest is history" [^277^][^280^].
Starting a winery hadn't been the original intention. But the first garage wines were "pretty delicious," and they were keen to make more. "Once we decided to go for it, things took off pretty quickly from there" [^280^].
"We don't use any commercial yeasts or additives. There are hundreds of additives that you can use in winemaking. For a lot of large producers, they want to make something that's commercially the same every year... For us, the 'formula' is the growing season."
— Emily Towe
Santa Barbara, San Diego & Everywhere
J. Brix sources fruit from "a number of vastly different, soul-stirring vineyards all over the state" — Santa Barbara County, where they learned the ropes, and San Diego County, where they live and where avocado and citrus farmers are increasingly turning to vines as water becomes scarcer [^277^][^286^].
All vineyards are farmed without synthetics. Some are certified organic; others are practicing organic. The common thread is meticulous, thoughtful farming — "that's really where you start to make good wine," Emily insists. Jody's background in horticulture gives him a deep understanding of plant physiology, and the couple spends as much time as possible in the vineyards during the growing season, monitoring progress and communicating with growers [^277^][^283^].
Key sites include Santa Barbara Highland Vineyard (Grenache, high-elevation, sandy soils), Riverbench Vineyard (Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris, Santa Maria Valley), Jurassic Park Vineyard (Chenin Blanc, sandy-limestone, Santa Ynez Valley), and Hagata Vineyard in San Diego County (Cinsault, planted specifically for rosé by the Broomell family, whose California farming roots go back eleven generations) [^282^][^283^].
High-elevation site in Santa Barbara County. Sandy soils, cool nights, intense sun. Source for La Libresca Grenache — transparent, rusty red, with red cherry, salt-and-pepper spice, tanned leather, dried carnations, hibiscus, white pepper, and dill.
Santa Maria Valley. Source for P.M. Daylight Pinot Meunier and Nullius in Verba Amphora Pinot Gris. Pinot Meunier — rarely bottled as a single variety — shows deep blue and black fruits with an earth-focused backbone. The Pinot Gris spends 90 days on skins in amphora.
Santa Ynez Valley. Sandy-limestone soils keep acidity high — perfect for sparkling. Source for Wild Wild Sea Chenin Blanc and Electric Mayhem Chenin Blanc Pet-Nat. The go-to spot for exceptional California Chenin Blanc.
San Diego County. Owned by the Broomell family, 11th-generation California farmers. Chris Broomell planted Cinsault specifically for rosé; his mother Debbie runs the farm and winery. A symbol of San Diego's emerging wine identity.
Neutral Vessels, Native Yeast, Only Love
"We use neutral vessels, native-yeast fermentation, and absolutely nothing else, with the exception of sulfur dioxide as necessary. In keeping with this minimalist approach, we choose not to fine, filter or cold-stabilize our wines. Our motto, in winemaking and life: ONLY LOVE" [^286^].
This is not a marketing line — it is the operational reality of a winery that started in a garage and has never abandoned its founding principles. No commercial yeasts. No additives. No formulas. Each vintage is different because each growing season is different. "The wine will be different from year to year, and that's all goes back to farming. It's exciting. It's alive" [^277^].
Jody's horticulture background informs every decision. "A keen understanding of plant physiology provides insight into the way each individual growing season affects the vines, the fruit, and the wine. A keen intuition built on many years working with plants helps guide winemaking decisions, which vary from harvest to harvest based on the sum of the season" [^280^].
The couple is "very curious winemakers" — constantly experimenting, adding at least one new grape or style each harvest. They have made wines "they've never seen anywhere else in the marketplace" — red-white blends, amphora-aged skin-contact whites, naturally sparkling wines, and unconventional combinations that emerge from "bits and pieces, odds and ends" of their tiny productions [^277^][^282^].
The Electric Mayhem
Named for the Muppet Show's house band, the Electric Mayhem Chenin Blanc Pet-Nat captures the playful, experimental spirit of J. Brix. From Jurassic Park Vineyard's sandy-limestone soils, tank-fermented, bottle-finished, and disgorged. "Downright delicious, bright and just a little salty." It is a refined take on pét-nat — not rustic, not dirty, but precise and joyful. The kind of wine that makes you smile before you even taste it [^282^].
Cellar Rats, Catalina & Only Love
J. Brix is a family winery in the truest sense. Talia and Elijah Towe grew up in vineyards and cellars, doing punchdowns, cleaning presses, pouring water at events. Talia created her own wine for a school project. Elijah declared Riesling superior to ice cream. Now grown, Talia works behind the bar at the San Marcos tasting room; Elijah assists with harvest and cooks in San Diego's top kitchens [^280^].
The family's adventures have been "more thrilling, and fulfilling, than anything she ever could have imagined," Emily writes. But they have also been hard. "Honestly, it's that harvest and back-to-school time for our two kids happen simultaneously every single year. It's the only time I wish I could clone myself!" They have missed out-of-town family weddings and funerals because the fruit doesn't wait [^283^].
Lady Iris Papyrus — the winery dog, a rescue with suspected St. Bernard/Retriever heritage — was "our most dearly beloved friend and companion" until she crossed the Rainbow Bridge in August 2022. She is remembered on the website with the same warmth that infuses every aspect of the J. Brix story [^280^].
The Catalina Wine Mixer — an Outstanding In The Field event on Catalina Island where Talia poured water and was "forever immortalized" — has become family lore. These are not corporate winemakers. They are a family that happens to make wine, and the wine is better for it.
"Electric mayhem? Absolutely. Heartbreak? Occasionally. In the fleeting moments, though, it's all nothing short of magical."
— Emily Towe
The J. Brix Menagerie
J. Brix makes 17+ wines in tiny quantities — 20 to 145 cases each — from a wildly diverse array of grapes and vineyards across California. The range spans traditional styles (Grenache, Syrah, Riesling) and experimental expressions (amphora Pinot Gris, skin-contact white blends, red-white blends, pét-nats). All are made with native yeast, neutral vessels, and minimal sulfur. None are fined, filtered, or cold-stabilized. The motto "Only Love" appears on every label [^277^][^282^][^286^].