“So, how did you get in the wine business, Judge?”

That’s a question I’m often asked. Here’s the story: I first met Louis Lucas shortly after I moved from Solvang to Santa Maria in 1975. We were both members of the Santa Maria Wine & Food Society and the Rotary Club of Santa Maria. Louis was growing wine grapes in the Santa Maria Valley and selling them primarily to wineries in Napa and Sonoma Counties, where wines made from his grapes won high honors.  Louis and I became friends, especially enjoying the Wine and Food Society events together. In 1989, as a Superior Court Judge, I performed the ceremony when Louis and Jill were married.