Tara Gomez

Chumash land – Lompoc, CA

Tara’s passion for wine began when she was young and her parents

used to take her wine tasting throughout the Central Coast. When she was a child she enjoyed looking at life through a microscope and it was the connection of wine to nature and science that made her want to pursue an Enology Degree.

Tara graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology from CSU Fresno. She worked for a few wineries, including Fess Parker and J. Lohr, at the same time she started her first label —Kalawashaq’ Wine Cellars (named for the village where her Chumash ancestors once lived)— sourcing fruit from her friend and mentor Larry Gomez, from Via Vega Vineyards in Paso Robles. Tara left her job at J. Lohr Winery in 2008, and put Kalawashaq’ on hold while she went to explore the world. During that time she worked two harvests at Castell d’Encus in Spain, the same winery where her wife, Mireia was the winemaker. When Tara returned to California in 2010, her Chumash Tribe had purchased Camp 4 Vineyard and she started Kitá Wines, a small, premium winery in the Santa Ynez Valley where she is currently the winemaker. She is the first and only recognized Native American winemaker in the country, and brings a unique perspective to her winemaking style.

In 2017, Tara was ready to bring her personal project, Kalawashaq’ Wine Cellars back to life, and along, added a new label with her wife Mireia. Thus, Camins 2 Dreams was born out of their shared love for wine, winemaking and each other. They source fruit exclusively from vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills, a unique appellation in Santa Barbara County. Her focus is on minimum intervention, natural winemaking. She sources fruit from vineyards that share in the same values of respect for the land and their workers and works exclusively with organic, biodynamic, and SIP Certified vineyards.

Tara’s most recent accolades include “2021 Winemaker of the Year” by VinePair and “2022 Winemaker of the Year” by The Hue Society. She is honored and humbled to receive such prestigious awards back to back and see all of her hard work, dedication, and perseverance not just seen, but celebrated. She was also awarded 2022 ChangeMakers by the American Association of University Women, Lompoc- Vandenberg Branch.

Tara is also about building community and is a part of many groups which include The Hue Society, Advisor for Woman-Owned Wineries, Advisor for The James Beard Legacy Network, Board of Director for The Vinguard, and a Mentor for The Roots Fund.