About Us

What is The Wine Experience?

At The Wine Experience we strive to provide a welcoming and relaxing environment where guests can simply enjoy a glass of wine with small bites and chocolates. What sets us apart is our signature event "The Blending Experience". You can create your own wine blend and leave with a bottle that has a personalized label on it. We even offer a "wine growler" program where people can purchase a one-liter wine growler and bring it back for discounted refills of any of our wines. At The Wine Experience we do produce small quantities of our "craft" wines each year in addition we offer a curated selection of wines from all over Monterey County and Central Coast of California. We also pride ourselves on hosting private events for groups, whether it be a company team building event, or a private party for friends or relatives. Come visit us at The Wine Experience where you can Taste, Blend and Create.

About the Owner and Founder

Brent Virgin was born and raised on a farm in the Midwest, where most of the foods his mother prepared for meals was grown and raised by his father literally right outside the back door. Shortly after graduating from college he took a trip to the West Coast and visited several wineries in Napa and Sonoma. Like many wine enthusiasts, he remembers the exact winery and glass of wine he was trying when the "light bulb" went off and his appreciation and joy for the journey of learning about wine began. Once Brent moved to California in 2002, he immediately began searching for ways to learn more about both the different styles of wines, and how techniques of winemaking affected the wines. He began to envision a wine bar that helped people learn more about wine, and in some ways "demystify" them. Due to the influences of marketing, many people mistakenly think of wines as being pretentious or elitest, and only being made by large corporate wineries. When in fact, most of the history of winemaking in America before the 1970's revolved around families making their own small batch, craft wines, similar to how they would have canned their own vegetables or smoked their own meats. In fact, Brent still has the original wooden equipment that his great-grandfather used to make Boysenberry wine in the Midwest. Brent eventually received his training and winemaking certification from UC Davis, and is proud to be a "garagiste" that makes small batch, craft wines from locally grown grapes. He also works as a "wine négociant" to source and bottle the best possible wines from other respected wineries in Monterey County and the Central Coast of California.