LIOCO Wine Company

LIOCO's origin traces to a conversation in an alley behind Spago Beverly Hills in 2001, where Kevin O'Connor, then a wine director, and Matt Licklider, a wine salesman, began sketching out a shared vision for California wine. Their inspiration was dual: the restrained, food-friendly styles of 1980s California and the transparency they admired in European table wines. The project took four years to move from concept to bottle, with the first vintage released in 2005. The name LIOCO is a straightforward contraction of the two founders' surnames, Licklider and O'Connor, and the winery operates as a négociant-style house with no estate vineyards of its own.

• Concept originated in 2001 at Spago Beverly Hills; brand launched commercially in 2005
• Co-founders were Kevin O'Connor (wine director) and Matt Licklider (wine salesman)
• Name LIOCO combines LICklider and O'Connor
• Inspiration drawn from European wine styles and pre-1990s California restraint

In 2017, Matt and Sara Licklider assumed sole ownership of LIOCO after co-founder Kevin O'Connor departed the project. The transition maintained the winery's core philosophy while consolidating decision-making within the Licklider family. Winemaking leadership has also evolved: Kai Kliegl took over the cellar role at the time of the 2017 transition, and Drew Huffine stepped into the winemaker position in September 2024, working alongside viticulturist Prudy Foxx. Matt and Sara remain actively engaged in the brand, including representing LIOCO at events such as the Jackson Hole Food and Wine Festival in early 2026, where they paired wines with Michelin-starred chefs.

• Matt and Sara Licklider assumed sole ownership in 2017 after Kevin O'Connor exited
• Drew Huffine became winemaker in September 2024; Prudy Foxx serves as viticulturist
• Kai Kliegl preceded Huffine as winemaker following the 2017 ownership transition
• Headquarters in Santa Rosa with a dedicated tasting room in Healdsburg

LIOCO operates entirely as a virtual winery, purchasing fruit from a carefully curated network of small, family-owned ranches stretching across roughly 400 miles of California coastline and inland valleys. The sourcing spans three primary counties: Sonoma, Mendocino, and Santa Cruz. In Sonoma, the winery works with Pocket Canyon Vineyard near Forestville (Swan clone), Sealift Vineyard on the West Sonoma Coast near Annapolis, and the celebrated Hirsch Vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. Mendocino sources include the Bartolomei vineyard in Talmage, McCutchen Vineyard on Pine Mountain with 1960s plantings, Lolonis Vineyard in Redwood Valley with 1940s Valdiguie vines, and Klindt Vineyard in Anderson Valley. In Santa Cruz, the Saveria Vineyard on Pleasant Valley Road near Aptos and the Michaud Vineyard in Chalone complete the roster. The winery prioritizes organically farmed parcels with older vines and heritage clones.

• Pocket Canyon (Swan clone Pinot, Sonoma Coast) and Sealift Vineyard (West Sonoma Coast near Annapolis) anchor the Sonoma portfolio
• Lolonis Vineyard, Redwood Valley, holds 1940s Valdiguie plantings; McCutchen Vineyard, Pine Mountain, dates to the 1960s
• Michaud Vineyard (Chalone) and Saveria Vineyard (Santa Cruz Mountains near Aptos) provide cooler-climate Chardonnay and Pinot fruit
• All sourced parcels are sought for organic farming, old vines, and heritage clonal material

LIOCO's winemaking philosophy is grounded in restraint and transparency. The signature Chardonnay is fermented entirely in stainless steel with no oak contact, a conscious rejection of the butter-and-vanilla profile that dominated California Chardonnay for decades. Across all wines, the approach is described as minimal intervention, prioritizing natural balance and the expression of each vineyard site over winemaker technique. The Carignan program, including a Rosé of Carignan and the Indica blend combining Carignan with Mendocino Valdiguie, reflects an interest in undersung grape varieties suited to the regions where LIOCO sources. The SoCo bottling, a Sonoma County blend, represents the entry-level expression of these principles at a value price point. The abnormally cool 2025 growing season was noted as particularly well-suited to LIOCO's style, especially for Rosé production.

• Chardonnay is fermented in stainless steel only; no oak barrels used
• Minimal intervention philosophy targets natural balance and site transparency over technical manipulation
• Carignan, Valdiguie, and other heritage varieties are central to the lineup alongside Pinot Noir
• The Indica blend pairs Carignan and Valdiguie from Mendocino County; SoCo is the entry-level Sonoma County blend

LIOCO represents one of the clearest articulations of the New California Wine movement, the loose coalition of producers that emerged in the 2000s to challenge the state's reputation for over-extracted, over-oaked, and high-alcohol wines. By working exclusively as a négociant and sourcing from organically farmed, old-vine parcels across a remarkably wide geographic range, LIOCO demonstrates that California can produce wines of genuine restraint and complexity without owning a single row of vines. The winery's commitment to varieties such as Carignan and Valdiguie, long dismissed as bulk-wine grapes in California, has helped rehabilitate their reputations and inspired other producers to take similar risks. With approximately 20,000 cases produced annually, LIOCO operates at a scale large enough to maintain broad distribution while small enough to remain genuinely site-focused.

• Associated with the New California Wine movement, which advocates for lower-intervention, lower-alcohol, site-expressive wines
• Négociant model across 400 miles of California proves estate ownership is not prerequisite for terroir-driven winemaking
• Carignan and Valdiguie programs have helped elevate these overlooked varieties within California's premium market
• Annual production of approximately 20,000 cases balances commercial reach with artisan-scale focus