With over twenty-five years of award winning wine making experience, as a valley veteran enologist, and not known about by many, is this big guy, and even bigger wine maker for Falkner Winery. Vick Knight referred to Steven Hagata’s “movie star appearance and genial personality” in his 1999 book about the valley’s winemakers, “Toasting Temecula Wines”…..  and when you meet him you’ll agree, he has the stature of a “grizzly”, but yet the gentleness and charm of a warm, fuzzy teddy bear .

Beyond his near decade of loyal service to Ray and Loretta Falkner, and before that,  almost another decade with the winery’s previous incarnations as Baily’s Temecula Crest Winery (and others), Steven Hagata is the proud proprietor of his own, private, boutique, award winning wines. Marketed as Las Piedras Vineyards, his small annual quantity releases of Syrah (400 cases) and Sangiovese (200 cases) have been consistent award winners, and coveted favorite varietals for a host of patrons to many San Diego area fine cuisine restaurants.

Steve tells the story, when you drag it out of him, of toiling in the early 90’s , at the 3,300 foot elevation of the northeast facing slopes of Palomar mountain, to personally hand plant over a thousand vines, on his own acreage in the Warner Springs area (about 25 miles southwest of Temecula). Like many of his fellow valley wine makers, it is not enough to be a fine enologist, but to be an accomplished viticulturist, as well. Fine wine has to start with fine fruit, and Las Piedras hails from the mastery of both. Grown and harvested “wih a ‘tude”, crushed and aged at his own facility in Murrieta, and bottled and warehoused at Falkner, Las Piedras is still without its own tasting room. But Las Piedras is of course available here, exclusively on the internet, at ShopTemeculaWines.com.

Las Piedras wines can also be found around the Temecula area in several retail and grocery establishments with fine wine departments, including Temecula House of Wine on Front Street in Old Town Temecula.