Fuil Wines, Old World Structure and New World Flavor
​September 7, 2026

At the forefront of the trend towards fresher, lower alcohol wines, Matt Espiro Jaeger of Fuil Wines is leading the charge. Making Fuil wines for the past five years, Matt’s timing couldn’t be better, as it seems wine drinkers are attracted to his style. Making wines with Old World structure and New World flavor, the grapes come from Santa Barbara County vineyards, from the cooler areas, and his winemaking style includes stem inclusion and native ferment, all to coax elegance and complexity into the glass.

​“Fuil” is a Gaelic word, with two meanings, first “Blood, kindred, nature”, secondly “Fool”, Matt’s tongue in cheek description of his endeavors. He and his wife, Carolina, share a love of wine, and together, they strive to bottle the magic of the California Coast with Old World winemaking. Fuil Wines is a young winery, this year celebrating five years of winemaking, and now starting to gain momentum.

Winemaker Matt Espiro Jaeger of Fuil Wines

A few months ago, the LA Wine Writers enjoyed a four-course winemakers luncheon with Matt and his Fuil wines at Lunetta in Santa Monica. When you meet Matt, he’s thoughtful, channeling natural and traditional winemaking, from different influences in his wine journey. Matt is a Hollywood story, coming from Wisconsin to become an actor, and now, after 20 years, he’s pursuing a new passion, wine. Matt has assembled a cast of wines that portray his persona, cool and reserved but with intensity and character underneath the surface, expressions that will surprise and delight you.

Greeted with the Fuil “Breá” Sauvignon Blanc Sta. Rita Hills 2025, Breá translates to “beautiful”, this was an excellent introduction to the man and his wines. A delicate mouthfeel and surprisingly round body, a balancing act of grapefruit with a “hint of fresh grass and Mexican crema” and a mineral finish”, what Matt will explain later, the tension in his winemaking, setting the stage for the rest of the wines to come.

Over lunch, Matt shared his story, and how he got into wine. “First answer is mild insanity”, he laughed and winked. But truly, it was a journey, starting in Wisconsin where he grew up. Matt’s father took a wine appreciation course and it caught his attention. When he moved to California to pursue an acting career, like most actors, he did side jobs between auditions, working in restaurants and catering, and got the opportunity to try great wines. That lit a smoldering ember that culminated in October 2020, on his 40th birthday. Carolina organized a special celebration at Demetria Estate & Vineyards in Los Olivos, even arranging for Matt to work with the winemaker on harvest. That experience really clicked for Matt, because two months later, he told Carolina “I think I want to make wine.” Her response, “It’s about time.” Since then, it’s been full steam ahead, connecting with Dusty Nabors in Camarillo, becoming his intern, while taking classes at UC Davis online through their certification program. Matt reflected, “I was able to get both, the theoretical and the hands on. Dusty is more on the natural wine side, UC Davis is on the conventional wine side. I got the best of both worlds."

​Today, Matt is making wines that speak to him, cool and elegant, lower alcohol, a bit of herbaceous and earthy character. His touchstone? The core mission of Old World structure and New World flavor, which Santa Barbara County has in spades. And so for the Amuse course, a Confit Green Garlic Valdivia Farms Tomato over Stracciatella with Wild Arugula, the Fuil Reserve Viognier J+K Vineyard Ballard County 2024 was poured, Fuil’s flagship wine, that started it all. J+K Vineyard basks in the fog that rolls off the Pacific Ocean, through the Gaviota pass, for part of the day, which according to Matt, “preserves acid and freshness.” Aromas and flavors of guava, orange blossom and custard floated from the glass.

​And here it gets interesting, when Matt spoke of his winemaking techniques with this Viognier. When first harvested, the grapes are brought in and treaded by foot, “to get the fermentation started”, then it sits in the sun for a couple of hours, just enough to “allow those phenolics from the skins to seep into the solution”, but not too much as to get an orange wine. “We’re always playing with this sort of tension, the early pick is treated like you’re trying to minimize extraction, but the fermentation is treated like you’re trying to maximize extraction.” I liken it to Matt’s secret sauce of how to deal with riper grapes, and that tension makes for an interesting wine.

Another interesting winemaking technique that Matt deploys is what he calls “Pied de Cuve”, which is French for “foot of the vat”, and correlates to a sort of sourdough starter for wine. A week before harvest, Matt takes a small amount of grapes, whichever variety is almost ready for harvest, crushes them and allows them to ferment spontaneously with the wild yeasts on the skins. He then confirms with the lab that it is the strain of native yeast he wants, and when the grapes are harvested, he brings them in, allowing to sit for a day. The second day, he adds the Pied de Cuve, and by the third day, fermentation has kicked off. Keeping an eye on the process so nothing goes wrong, Matt is able to avoid commercial yeasts, while having a reliable fermentation, and minimize any chemicals in the process.

Changing gears, over the Starter course, a Crab Cake with Sweet Pepper Aioli and Citrus Caviar was served alongside the Fuil Solas Nua Chillable Red Blend Santa Barbara County 2025. Solas Nua, which translates to “new light”, is always released on May 1st, and is a yummy, spritzy, fruit forward blend of 85% Mourvedre and 15% Viognier. In 2022, Matt and Carolina were doing blending trials at the dinner table, and trying to mix things up, Matt first thought of doing a solera-style wine, but it was “too nouveau”, so they thought, “What if we chilled it?” The response, Fuil sold out forty cases in three months! Matt and Carolina’s chilled red has become one of their more popular wines, as Matt’s answer to the trend of chillable reds, “instead of a throw away, bubblegum thing, I felt it can be more than that, it can have a little structure to it.” Made with 100% whole cluster and native fermentation, spending seven months in neutral French oak, and voila! While still fun, it’s a complex melange of “strawberry and pomegranate on the nose, with tobacco and underripe cherry on your tongue”, according to Fuil tasting notes.

​Matt mused upon this happy experiment, “One of the fun things about being a winemaker is you get to try things, experiment. Blending trials are always my favorite time of year, because I always end up being surprised, and always end up being wrong about at least one thing that I think is going to work, and then we try, and end up saying, Never mind, let’s do something else.” I remarked that Matt’s timing is perfect, noting that “as people’s palates are changing, especially the younger generation, what you’re doing right now is the thing that is most appealing, lower alcohol wine, also chillable red.”

Over the Main Course, a Wood Grilled Hangar Steak with Blistered Tomato, Cornichons, Pepperoncini, and Hand Cut Kennebec Fries, the Fuil Rua Red Wine Ballard County 2023 was poured. A blend of 69% Grenache and 31% Syrah, this earthy, spicy wine hits all the pleasing notes; “Cedar, leather, pepper, and chocolate raspberry mousse, with some bacon and pork fat on the palate”, yet maintains its delicate balance. “Rua” is Gaelic for red, or ginger hair, Matt says Fuil also makes a white blend called Bán, Gaelic for a pale-skinned person, he says both names are little jokes at his expense, reddish hair and pale skin. But getting into the business aspect of winemaking is no joke. It’s no secret that the wine industry is struggling right now, with decreased demand and oversupply. Matt comments, “I have an ongoing conversation with my wife about how to handle the winemaking and business side. You hope to have enough wine to sell in two years to consumers but not have too much wine that has to be stored for too long.” But he is lucky, in the five years he’s been in business, this year he would be profitable if it wasn’t for trying to expand the brand. Fuil does monthly pop-up tastings at Black Market Liquor Bar in Studio City, while working to take over Dusty Nabors Camarillo location, and opening a tasting room there next year.

In addition, Matt noted, “Pricing is always an issue, because California producers can’t compete with Old World producers, here the land is expensive, there are lots of regulations to contend with, and most wineries are relatively young, compared to European ones, and the start up costs are enormous.” Fuil Wines has a direct to consumer Wine Club, with either a 3 or 6 bottle purchase, twice a year, and Matt hopes to grow the membership as far as his supply of wines can meet the demand. The wines are also available for purchase online. In addition, there are more wines coming online in the next couple of years.

​For the Dessert course, a Chocolate Truffle Cake with Whipped Cream was a fabulous pair with the Fuil Reserve Syrah J+K Vineyard Ballard County 2022. Matt is particularly fond of this wine, “Syrah is my baby, and how I planted my flag here in California.” The location of J+K Vineyard is a perfect fit for Matt’s style of winemaking, since they have trouble ripening fruit, and it fits the lower alcohol mantra. A cool-climate Syrah, with so much complexity, 95% Syrah, 3% Viognier, and 2% Mourvedre, it channels dark cherry, plums, white pepper and forest floor, in a savory, earthy nature.

Fuil Wines are divided into the White Label and Black Label bottles. According to Matt, the White Label wines are “When you want to make the wine about the night”; the Black Label wines are “When you want to make the night about the wine.” An interesting distinction, basically the Black Label is their Reserve wines, selling for $45-60; the White Label is their primary wines, selling for $30-40. The wines are definitely surprising, and such a nice change of pace, all of the LA Wine Writers attending marveled over their balance and flavor, not masked by too much ripeness or too much oak.

Matt Espiro Jaeger of Fuil Wines

​This husband-wife duo, Matt and Carolina, have bonded over wine for almost twenty years, now they are Team Espiro Jaeger, pursuing their winemaking dream. Taking California fruit, made with Old World structure, it’s the best of both worlds, imbued with Irish heritage.