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Considering his progress in the world of wine, it is hard to believe that Nat Wong started his journey only eight years ago as an intern at Folktale Winery in Carmel. By the end of this year, with paperwork and permits complete, his Blade and Talon Winery tasting room will debut on Second Street in San Juan Bautista, across from the State Park stable.
“San Juan is really the pulse of San Benito County,” Wong said, explaining why he chose to locate his tasting room there. “While Hollister is the seat, it’s very modern. The vibe and the energy of San Juan Bautista really is the identity of San Benito County.”
Wong’s decision to put down roots in San Juan comes from his attraction to the town’s unique character, where its rich history blends with frontier independence.
“People moved there initially because they wanted to get away from everybody, “ he said, “and we’re still doing that. They’re doing whatever they can to make it work in this small pocket off the side of a freeway. It really shouldn’t even be supported naturally, but it’s there.”
Besides his wines, Wong plans to sell some of the knives he makes, memorialized with his winery’s name and on the wine’s labels; they are drawn to represent the wings of a falcon, with falconry as another of his passions. Plans also include immersive wine experiences and garden gatherings.
“We’ll see what the community asks for,” he said. “I’m looking at doing some very intimate workshops on the history of the area’s wines. Maybe doing pairings with music and wine, foods and wines, even roses and wines. Wine is something that we use all our senses for.”
With the opening of Inaka Fusion a year ago and the recent soft launch of Hailey Kemp and Ryan Morris’ Coyote Call, Wong sees the tasting room as another sign of San Juan Bautista slowly coming back to life.
“It’s like roses,” he said. “You think they’re all dead, but they can always come back. They could have been gone forever, but if you don’t kill them, they’ll always come back. It’s no different for downtown San Juan. The momentum is only going to go forward.”
Wong became fascinated with winemaking after having what he says was perhaps his third glass of wine ever, a cabernet franc he tasted in the Loire Valley in 2018. From there, he interned at Carmel’s Folktale Winery and, within a year, was working in the cellar and beginning to make his own Blade and Talon wines.
His first release was the 2020 Rosé of Barbera, which earned 90 points from Wine Enthusiast. It’s a grape Wong has revisited for this year’s 2025 Calleri Vineyard Barbera release, made using a similar method with a goal of making the wine as light and delicate as possible.
“It’s still Barbera,” he said. “It just has minimal skin contact. I think it makes a killer rosé because of its natural affinity for acid. If you close your eyes, you’ll find it’s easy to pull out those red fruit and strawberry notes. You don’t have the color bias ahead of time.”
The grapes come from the Calleri Vineyard, one of two Siletto Family Vineyards in Tres Pinos that Wong has managed since 2023 and continues to do so during the property’s unfortunate sell-off.
“It takes many, many people to make a single glass of wine,” Wong said, “and one of them is going to include the vineyard owner. Ownership changes, things change, but luckily we found another group, and we’re able to still farm it.”
The Calleri Vineyard is also the source for his 2025 Greco, known in Italy as “Greco di Tufo.” One of the three noble white grapes of Campania (along with falanghina and fiano), that connection to history is intoxicating to Wong.
“It’s got really nice floral aromas,” he said. “It’s naturally high in tannins, and it has this crazy orange color. Greco is literally named ‘Greece,’ ‘Greek.’ These are the true grapes of antiquity, intended for emperors. And now we drink it, and I think that’s so cool.”
The variety of these heritage, and occasionally scarce, grapes is one of the attractions that brought Wong to Siletto in the first place.
“I’m glad that I get to use some of these,” he said, “because not many people in America are making wine from them now. I’m a winemaker. I want to make what I grow, and, luckily, our vineyard supports dozens of varieties. I want to make wine with all of them eventually.”
Also releasing a 2025 Montepulciano from Calleri, a grape traditionally used in blends, Wong switched things up with a 2025 Grenache grown at Paicines Ranch, where he lives.
“It’s really fun to make wine out of their grapes,” he said. “And what’s nice is this year they delivered it to my front door, and so it was cool. I walked right out to my front door, and a forklift was loading grapes right onto my trailer outside. This was straight front-door service.”
Wong says he holds Paicines Ranch “in reverence” due to the approach taken as a certified regenerative operation.
“Very intimate care and consideration is taken for those vines,” he said, “and how they manage the land around it, beholden to the laws of nature.”
Wong produces grenache in his role as winemaker for Carmel’s Folktale Winery, and decided to lean into the grape as a counter to the “light, fun, whimsical wines that I typically like to make.”
“People are asking for things like Cabernets or Pinot Noirs,” he said, “and I wanted to take something more traditional and make it in a more classic style, while still trying to hold on to the spirit of the country. Throw in a little bit of stems, lower the alcohol, freshen it up a bit.”
Wong said the wine should appeal to those who like to age their wines, allowing some of the fruitiness of the grenache to drop away and other notes emerge, but it’s perfectly drinkable now for those who prefer not to wait.
“I think it still needs time to sort of open up,” he said. “But many consumers really like young wines; they love that fruit and freshness. What I’m really looking for is when the tannins round out and add a nice suppleness as it gets older. I think it could get better.”
Having learned the craft of winemaking during his first internship at Folktales, Wong returned to the winery with the experience he gained managing the Siletto sites. His immediate interest, beyond overseeing the work, is to lead those he works with on a journey similar to his.
“I told everybody we’re not trying to turn out enologists and cellar masters,” he said. “My goal is for everybody to be at a winemaker level. Can you imagine how good a winery would be if it was managed by three winemakers as opposed to multiple people on a hierarchy?”
Saying he isn’t trying to sell his wines as the best on the market—“I make good quality wine, but many people are more skilled and more experienced than I am”—Wong’s goal is instead to communicate the rich history and unique characteristics of the local vineyards.
“I don’t really necessarily need to tell a story myself,” he said. “I want to create an environment that allows people to tell or share with me their stories. I want to learn and hear about the stories of yore. Why are we here? Why are we still here? Why do we keep fighting to improve?”
Blade and Talon wines are available online as well as at Vertigo Coffee Roasters (81 4th Street, San Juan Bautista) and Crave Wine Co. (616 San Benito Street, Hollister).
Folktale Winery, at 8940 Carmel Valley Road in Carmel, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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Recommendations for future Eat, Drink, Savor articles can be emailed to roberteliason@benitolink.com.
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