Meet Kellen Van Allen | Winemaker & Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kellen Van Allen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kellen, why did you pursue a creative career?
I wouldnt necessarily say that i “pursued” creativity as a career. At a certain point with music, after many years of practice, i began to be offered gigs and over time it evolved into a steady side hustle doing what i loved and once my wife and i started having children it became a blessing that instead of having to get a second job doing something ordinary and unrewarding i was able to double down on performing and the more i performed the better i became. eventually, unceremoniously, it became a career.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I would have to write a book to answer this completely haha. okay how did i become a winemaker/musician/artist? in 2012 i moved to northern California somewhat randomly for a position as harvest intern for a fancy winery called Kosta Browne. i grew up working as a painting contractor with my father as well as many other manual labor trades including tiling, catering, i even worked a few years running a homeless shelter. i proved to be highly competent and was offered full time. my wine career took off from there and brought me to many places over the next decade. i developed a strong reputation for being a reliable hard worker and i thank my father for teaching me this most important and difficult lesson. while on lunch breaks i would carve (whittle) wooden chickens for no particular reason, I brought them to a fine art gallery in oregon while i was working up there and they sold them for me. to my amazement they were a hit. I would play solo music gigs on weekends wherever i could or just around the fire or a friends porch. music and wine was the wealth of our community.
on a winter break from work in 2018 my wife and i traveled home to Ojai and learned to our delight that we were expecting our first daughter and we decided to stay through pregnancy with family. I started contracting again and found work to be abundant in both painting and music and also making solid wine industry connections that blossomed eventually back into full time winemaking. I am now assistant winemaker to Dominic O’reilly of Doctors’ orders wine out of Ojai, I am brewmaster/ head of production for Annas Cider, Jungle Tea and santa paula brewery.
incidentally, my sister Andrea moved back from colorado and we formed the band The Van Allen Twins. we play once or twice a week all over the area.
was it easy? any answer i give is entirely subjective but i would simply say yes. easier than myself as a youth may have imagined such a path. in my opinion, to pursue your inner self, your inner truth, beauty, resonant path ,is to sail along upon Gods’ invisible winds that will always push you beyond yourself, or your imagined self, to lands beyond your prayers.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
usually when my best friend james comes for a visit from north oregon we just get drunk around my fire pit and sing songs and play guitar and banjo and end up arguing like irish assholes then we get breakfast burritos at don lalos and maybe do a hike in overnight somwhere on the sespe so we can get drunk again and play more banjo…

If you are in the Ojai area look up my band on Instagram @vanallentwins and come see us play amazing original music. We play at all the breweries and music joints

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To every creature Ive ever known. Thank you Ma thank you Pa thank you wife and beautiful daughters thank you sis. I love you all.

Website: vanallentwins.com

Instagram: @vanallentwins

Image Credits
Cody Joens William Thoren