Kenny and Lynn Likitprakong occupy a unique space in California winemaking. Through their Hobo Wine Company banner, which includes fan favorite projects like Folk Machine and Camp, they built a legendary reputation crafting honest, vibrant, low alcohol table wines meant for actual dinner tables rather than high scoring cellars. Before becoming the darling of the native yeast, low intervention movement, Kenny took a winding path that included contemplating careers in skateboarding, filmmaking, and writing before graduating from UC Davis. His first winemaking gig landed him in the Santa Cruz Mountains back in 1999. While classmates flocked to Napa to chase high octane cabernets, Kenny fell in love with the cool, misty, ocean influenced slopes of Santa Cruz.
Where Folk Machine exists to offer playful, accessible everyday drinking, Ghostwriter is an entirely different beast. Launched in 2008, it stands as Kenny and Lynn’s quiet love letter to the Santa Cruz Mountains. The name reflects the fundamental ethos: Kenny views the ancient marine soils, mountain microclimates, and old heritage vines as the true authors of the story, with himself merely acting as the ghostwriter putting those notes onto paper.
Farming small, low yielding, dry farmed sites organically, Kenny and Lynn craft wines inspired by the delicate, acid driven styles of northern France—think Burgundian structure mixed with Jura style freshness. Yet despite working with tiny parcels in an appellation where neighboring producers routinely charge upwards of triple digits, Kenny and Lynn refuse to price out normal wine lovers. They remain two of the most down to earth, genuinely good people in the industry, and their commitment to keeping these top notch mountain wines astonishingly affordable feels like a gift to those of us who love unvarnished, site driven winemaking.
Ghostwriter Santa Cruz County Pinot Noir 2023 - $28.99
The perfect introduction to cool climate Santa Cruz Mts Pinot Noir. Kenny relies on wild yeasts and old, neutral oak barrels that step out of the way to let the fruit do the talking. Upfront, you get snappy red cherry, blood orange peel, and that classic damp forest floor vibe that comes from vines hanging out in cool ocean fog all morning. It is light, nimble, and ridiculously easy to drink, packing the kind of freshness that makes a second bottle feel like a very reasonable choice.
Ghostwriter Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay 2023 - $29.99
If the typical, heavy weight champion California Chardonnays aren't your thing, this one is going to feel like a breath of crisp mountain air. Sourced from old vines digging through lean, rocky marine soils, it gets a gentle press and sits quietly in neutral barrels with zero stirring or funny business. The result is all crisp green apple, lemon verbena, and a cold stone minerality that feels like it was squeezed straight out of the mountain rocks. It has just enough weight to keep things interesting while kicking off a bright, razor sharp finish that would make a grower in Chablis nod in approval.
Ghostwriter Santa Cruz Mountains Savagnin 2024 - $31.99
An adventurous tip of the hat to the rare white grape of the French Jura, grown right here in the misty Santa Cruz fog. Kenny let it do its thing in the cellar, giving us a bottle that is equal parts zesty, salty, and texturally fascinating. It jumps out of the glass with white flowers, tangy orchard fruit, and a sea spray finish that practically begs for food. If you are putting together a board with nutty cheeses, roasted chicken, or shellfish, this is the exact bottle you want on the table.
Ghostwriter Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir Amaya Ridge Vineyard 2022 - $49.99
The absolute star of the lineup. Tucked away at fifteen hundred feet up in the clouds, Amaya Ridge is a cold, windswept spot that yields tiny amounts of insanely flavorful grapes. Kenny uses a little whole cluster fermentation here to throw in some extra spice and backbone, resulting in a gorgeous pour packed with wild alpine strawberries, orange zest, black tea, and crushed slate. It feels practically weightless on the palate yet hangs on for a remarkably long time, showing the kind of structure that will easily evolve for the next ten years in your cellar.
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