On a sultry afternoon in Solvang, wine lovers stream into the cool interior of the Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards tasting room, an elegant emporium on Copenhagen Drive. Eager tasters sample classic offerings like Chardonnay and Merlot, as well as rarities like Dolcetto, Pinot Grigio and an intriguing sparkler made from Muscat Canelli. On this day, co-owner Louis Lucas shares insider details about production techniques and warmly inquires about tastersÇ reactions to the wines.

ìI love to find out which ones they like the best, Louis declares with a sunny smile as he helps out his busy staff by splashing a sample into a waiting glass. His informal poll reveals that, today, Barbera (ìthe wash-down wine of the Piemonte ) scores as the favorite.

The tasting room opened in June 2002, and offers vintages made under three proprietary labels: Lucas & Lewellen, a program of Rhone, Bordeaux and Burgundy varietals that includes the startlingly rich 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1999 Pinot Noir (described as a ìCab lover's Pinot ) and a heady 1999 Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon-Chenin Blanc; Mandolina, a line of Italian wines that boasts the spicy 2000 Barbera and the hauntingly complex 1999 Nebbiolo; and Virgin, a selection of unwooded wines including the remarkably crisp 2001 Sauvignon Blanc and the food-friendly 2001 Chardonnay.

Despite describing themselves as ìthe new kids on the block, proprietors Louis Lucas and Royce Lewellen have been around a long time. In the early 1970s, Louis distinguished himself as an innovative viticulturist when he combined the European tradition of tight vine spacing with his own ideas (many of them gleaned from the family table grape-growing business) about trellising, pruning and canopy management. He analyzed soil, water and leaf samples in order to match varietals to suitable sites, and helped to create some of Santa Barbara County's finest vineyards.

Still enthusiastic about wine after 30 years of grape growing, Louis laughs, ìI jump out of bed every morning and my wife says "Where are you going in such a hurry?' Every day I feel like I have a challenge to meet.

Royce Lewellen journeyed from a career in the courtroomófirst as a civil litigator and later as a judge with both the Solvang Justice Court and the Santa Maria Superior Courtó to the world of winemaking via his love of the grape and his friendship with Lucas. He retired to pursue his many interests, from gardening and theater (he's a founding member of Solvang's TheaterFest board) to fine dining and warbling with the Coastal Voices Choir.

Royce describes the genesis of the partnership in simple terms, ìLouis and I met at [Chef] Rick's and when lunch was over, I was in the grape-growing business.

Friends for decades, the two forged a close relationship as members of the Santa Maria Wine & Food Society before teaming up in 1996 to found Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards. In concert with their mutual goal, and under the trusted tutelage of winemaker Dan Gehrs, they are producing top quality wines at affordable prices.

Taking their enterprise to the next level, Lucas and Lewellen recently installed state of the art equipment into a new facility in Buellton. Tanks, presses and tools of the trade sport wheels and removable brackets to keep them portable, for the partners plan to build their own winery one day. Eventually, they will produce about 40,000 cases of wine annually, while continuing to sell fruit to discerning winemakers.

Old friends who enjoy each other's company, Louis Lucas and Royce Lewellen supplement each other's sentences, filling in details with a lively banter burnished by years of dining, dreaming and discussing. Mutual respect and a love of the grape game bind them in a fluid, fortuitous partnership, and together they have created some of the Santa Ynez Valley's favorite wines.

The Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards tasting room, located at 1645 Copenhagen Drive in Solvang, is open for business seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wine prices range from $12-25, with discounts for Wineclub members. Call 805-686-9336 for more information and details about upcoming special events.