86 | WINE ENTHUSIAST | OCTOBER 2019
4O under 4O I 2019
Kirk Wiles, 37
Founder/CEO, Paradise Springs Winery • Clift on, VA & Santa Barbara, CABicoastal pioneer
Why not make wine on both coasts? That’s what Wiles was thinking when he launched
Paradise Springs, the fi rst bicoastal wine brand in America. Aft er abandoning his pursuits
in fi nance and marketing, he built a winery operation on family property in Virginia. Wiles
then hired established Winemaker Doug Margerum in Santa Barbara as his consultant and
opened a tasting room in the bustling Funk Zone neighborhood. He also enlisted actor
Billy Zane to paint a label for his Pink Ash rosé, a bottling that benefi ts nearby Thomas Fire
and mudslide victims. Wiles is chairman of the Virginia Wine Board and also serves on the
boards of Wine America and the Virginia Wineries Association.