The name Minassian-Young comes from the surnames of the winemaker, David Young’s, parents. David’s mother, Christine, was born in the Far East; her heritage is Armenian, English and Burmese. After traveling to London and later settling in California, she met and married Conrad whose Scottish ancestor left a small village near Glasgow to build sawmills in Vancouver who then settled in Hawaii. Christine and Conrad met at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and have kept the ties with the area and the university for more than 40 years. David chose the winery’s name to represent both sides of his family and heritage. David chose to be a winemaker as a teenager and went to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo for his degree in fruit science and viticulture. He worked in Napa Valley and the Central coast in various vineyards, wineries, and cellars for over a decade before he opened his own winery. David Young produced 1,500 cases of Minassian-Young’s first commercial vintage in 2004. Minassian-Young then opened its tasting room doors the Summer of 2005 and has been pouring its wines ever since.

David Young