Liberty Cellars was founded in 2012 when NICK GARDNER purchased a 38-acre ranch near Paso Robles, California. His interest in wine and the central coast began over two decades ago during visits to Paso Robles for the Wildflower triathlons. He came to love the small, rural town with impressive wine and food.

After a two-year search, he found a unique property intended as a weekend get-away and restoration project – the property had been in foreclosure, and the vineyard and residence needed major rehabilitation. The parcel included a 20-acre vineyard planted in 2000 consisting of 10 acres of Cab, 10 acres of Syrah, and a 1/4 acre of unknown varietal along the driveway (a lot of learning the hard way - no information gets passed along in foreclosures!).

Coming off a recent memorable trip to New England featuring Bennington and Minuteman National Park (including a magical early morning run - in heavy fog - on the Battle Road Trail between Lexington and Concord), his interest in the American Revolution had been rekindled - and the idea for Liberty label came as a way to unite passions for wine and American history.

He moved to Paso from Santa Monica full time in 2013. At first, the vineyard was leased and the grapes sold to prominent local wineries, with Liberty retaining a ton or two to make wine for fun at a neighbor's facility. With no background but a desire to learn and experience, Nick took over the farming in 2021. Though still selling most of the grapes, Liberty transitioned to producing more wines and began selling direct to consumers in 2023.

Today, Liberty is a boutique winery making small-lot wines exclusively from our estate fruit. We grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah using sustainable and regenerative farming practices. We have been creating exemplary single-varietal and blends since the 2014 vintage. We have plans to build a winery and tasting room onsite; currently we make our wines at a new production facility in Paso, with Nick directing the winemaking.

Each Liberty label is a tribute to the people, events, and icons that contributed to the founding of this country - the warriors and the intellectuals, the renowned and the less-heralded. Nick designs the labels, draws the illustrations (some more successful than others!), and writes the back-label text. Wherever possible, he reads a biography or history for each featured individual or event.

Nick grew up in Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado. He attended Rice University in Houston earning a bachelor's degree in Mathematical Economics (and took several electives in American history). After graduation, he worked in banking for eight years in New York and Houston before moving to LA to pursue creative and real estate endeavors.

What then started as taking a few bins of grapes to a neighbor’s winery to make holiday gifts for friends and family – has evolved into a passion aimed at exploring great wine and great stories from American history.