Our People

Justin Baldwin
Founder

Former investment and international banker Justin Baldwin founded JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery in 1981 when he purchased 160 acres west of Paso Robles on California's Central Coast and planted his estate vineyards.

Since its inception, Justin has focused his efforts on producing world class Bordeaux style blends from the estate vineyards for the JUSTIN label. Justin is a pioneer in producing this style of wine on the Central Coast and his efforts have been rewarded with past and present vintages earning 90+ points by the major wine trade publications. More encompassing recognition has come from awards such as the Grand Sweepstakes award winner, Best of class, Best of Region, the coveted Pichon Lalande trophy for "World's Best Blended Red Wine" and Wine Spectators Top 10 Wines of the World. Vintages have received numerous accolades by capturing Decanter Magazine's "4 Stars", Restaurant Wine's "3 Forks" and Connoisseurs Guide's" 3 Puffs". Justin has consistently earned the praise of the wine press with recognition from the likes of Robert M. Parker Jr. naming Justin Baldwin one of his "Wine Heroes of the Year" and the "Star of Paso Robles", the James Beard Foundations "Great American Winemaker Award", Quarterly Review of Wine's "Top 3 Cabernet Producers of the Year", and Wine Enthusiast's "Top Cabernet and Blended Wine Producers List" for seven years running.

Food and JUSTIN wines go together. In fact, JUSTIN is the only winery on California’s Central Coast to retain a full-time chef whose kitchen works daily to pair acclaimed JUSTIN wines with fresh seasonal and vineyard grown offerings. Justin is an active participant in the wine world. He is a frequent panelist at prominent food and wine events worldwide, is a board member of the Family Winemakers of California, board member of the Wine Institute, board member of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, vice-chair Paso Robles AVA committee, co-founder of the West Side Grand Crew, the Far out Wineries of Paso Robles and The Wellness Community Central Coast. For his contributions Justin has been named the Paso Robles Wine Industry person of the year and has been made a Commandeur d’ Honneur De L’Ordre Du Bontemps Du Medoc.

Justin lives on the vineyard with daughter Morgane, and their dogs Sunny and Francois.  In addition to the vineyards, winery and tasting room you will find the highly acclaimed country inn, The JUST Inn, and its intimate gourmet restaurant, Deborah's Room, on the property.

To reach Justin Baldwin, Justin@JUSTINwine.com

Fred Holloway
Vice President, Director of Production & Winemaking

Fred has been a successful winemaker for more than 28 years. He has worked with big, medium and small wineries, Mom and Pop to corporate, from hands on experience to supervising over 800 people. He believes that "truly great wines come from the people you work with." His career began on the Central Coast shortly after receiving his Enology degree from Fresno State University. Until the mid 1990's he worked in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties initially building a small boutique winery and then supervising production at one of the largest wineries in the state. Subsequently, he moved to the North Coast where he collaborated in producing the award winning Artisan Series for the Jess Jackson Family of Wines. There from 1996 -1998, he worked with the brand winemakers of Lokoya, Cardinale, Verite, Stonestreet, Hartford Court, La Crema, Robert Pepi and Edmeades in consistently producing 19 wines rated 90-95 by Robert M. Parker Jr. and 15 wines scoring 90-98 by the Wine Spectator.

He returned to the Central Coast in 1999 as Winemaker at Cambria Winery. There he continued to distinguish himself with high recognition from industry pundits. Parker rated 5 of his wines 90-93 and Wine and Spirits Magazine placed him on their list of Estate Wineries of the Year naming 2 of his wines to their Top Ten wines of the Year list.

"The Central Coast has long been a breeding ground for excellence in winemaking. We were pleased that we did not have to go outside to attract such a highly talented and experienced individual," said Deborah Baldwin co-proprietor for JUSTIN.

Justin Baldwin, co-proprietor of JUSTIN Winery states that, "Fred brings a wealth of experience in both winemaking and management. Each are vitally important to our continued growth as we reach for new heights in our industry."

To reach Fred Holloway, fred@JUSTINwine.com