Barbara Banke
“I like to see a parcel of land or vineyard and if it has potential to make it better, take something that is perfect soil, perfect location – and know that you can turn it into something that’s world-class.”
-Barbara R. Banke

One of the wine industry’s female pioneers, Jackson Family Wines Chairman & Proprietor Barbara R. Banke has spent the last two decades helping lead the company she founded with her late husband, wine icon Jess Jackson, while building and expanding some of the most beloved wine brands in the nation.

The UCLA and Hastings Law School graduate is no stranger to juggling diverse workloads. A former land use and constitutional law attorney, Banke spent more than a decade arguing cases before the United States Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal, and raised three children with Jess (Katie, Julia and Christopher Jackson).

In addition to the flagship Kendall-Jackson and La Crema wineries, Banke and Jackson developed nearly two dozen small, high-image wineries located across Sonoma, Napa, Monterey, Santa Maria and Mendocino counties, including Arrowood, Byron, Cambria, Carmel Road, Edmeades, Freemark Abbey, Hartford, La Jota, Matanzas Creek and Stonestreet. The Jackson family portfolio also includes the international properties of Chateau Lassègue in Bordeaux, Tenuta di Arceno in Tuscany, Calina in Chile and Yangarra Estates in Australia.

Banke takes a hands-on role in the development and promotion of various Jackson Family Wine estates, with a special focus on the company’s ultra-luxury wineries such as Lokoya, Cardinale, and Vérité, as well as new vineyard acquisitions, and a broad range of other business initiatives. In addition to the family’s wine holdings, Banke shares Jackson’s love of equestrian racing – their acclaimed stables, Stonestreet Farms in Kentucky, have produced several award-winning yearlings including Curlin, Rachel Alexandra and My Miss Aurelia.

A well-known philanthropist, Banke and the Jacksoon family are passionate advocates for education in California. She co-founded the Sonoma Paradiso Wine Auction, the third largest wine country charity in the United States, and helped build the Sonoma Country Day School in Santa Rosa. She and Jackson also committed $3 million to found the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building at UC-Davis, a national center of excellence in oenology education, which broke ground in late 2011. Today she serves as a founding board member for Sonoma Academy, a Santa Rosa-based independent college-prep high school recognized for its rigorous, interdisciplinary curriculum.

Chris Carpenter
Winemarker

Every bottle of Cardinale reveals the artistic sensibility of the winemaker, with each vineyard lot fused into a seamless Cabernet blend in which you can sense the constituent parts, but still taste them as one complete wine. Winemaker Christopher Carpenter transforms the multifaceted notes of our mountain fruit into the refined, complex, and elegant blend that is uniquely Cardinale. Behind this expertise is an impressive background covering diverse facets of grape growing and winemaking.

Carpenter grew up outside Chicago and developed a thirst for knowledge. With an intellect geared for science and a physique built for athletics, he earned an undergraduate degree in biology at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, while playing big-ten football. Still curious, he went on to receive his MBA at the University of Illinois, Chicago while selling medical products and bartending at both an Irish Pub and later a music club. The music club surrounded him with musicians and artists and together, they started exploring and discovering the great food and wine scene in Chicago.

During a visit to Napa Valley, Carpenter discovered a lifestyle that combined his love of the sciences with his growing passion for culinary and wine pursuits— a way to be challenged both intellectually and creatively. Soon after, he would start studying at UC Davis where he earned a master’s degree in both viticulture and enology. Carpenter joined the winemaking team at Cardinale in 1998 and in 2001 he was appointed winemaker.

The passions that developed in his 20s and 30s continue to shape his personal life as well as his professional life. Carpenter and his wife founded the Napa Valley chapter of Slow Food and served as Chair for Slow Food USA, an organization dedicated to preserving regional foods and small food purveyors, and to celebrating local farmers and chefs. He is the President of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, an avid concert goer, and he occasionally plays the trombone. And he continues his love affair with the restaurant business by bartending every Friday night at the Rutherford Grill where he “learns more about human nature and about life in general, behind the plank.”

For visionary music entrepreneur Jay Boberg, the founding of Nicolas-Jay marks the exciting next act in a remarkable professional life, and is the culmination of a lifelong love affair with wine. Working alongside his longtime friend, renowned Burgundian winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo, Jay has immersed himself in the world of viticulture and winemaking, and is deeply involved in every aspect of Nicolas-Jay.

Spending close to six months a year in the Willamette Valley, Jay is both the dynamic guiding force behind Nicolas-Jay and its most committed cellar rat, taking samples, driving the fruit from the vineyards, sorting grapes, doing punch-downs, and whatever else needs doing without ego or reservation. “Along with our associate winemaker, Tracy Kendall, Jean-Nicolas and I make up Nicolas-Jay’s three-person team,” says Jay. “We all do windows.”

Throughout Jay’s life, he has made his avocation his vocation. Following his passion for music, at the age of 21, Jay cofounded the seminal indie record label IRS Records, and by his mid-30s, he began a tenure as president of MCA/Universal Records that lasted for more than a decade. Throughout his career, he launched or fostered some of the most influential music artists of the past three decades, including R.E.M., The Go-Go’s, Blink- 182, Mary J. Blige, Sublime, The Roots and B.B. King.

During this time, Jay also developed a passion for wine that would shape his life. While attending college, Jay’s roommate worked at a wine distributor, and on an early trip to Napa Valley, Jay met Robert Mondavi, an encounter that inspired an enduring interest in wine. Building on this interest, Jay started forming wine tasting groups with music industry friends early on in his days at IRS. He also began working with people like Kermit Lynch (who has become a friend and mentor) to regularly hold winemaker dinners as part of promoting music events. “There are so many parallels between wine and music,” says Jay. “Both are driven by personal recommendations—one friend telling another—and they both enhance and enrich our lives by creating emotional connections. There are certain wines, like certain albums, that move you and stay with you forever.”

For Jay, whether they are from Burgundy or Willamette Valley, these unforgettable wines are almost always Pinot Noirs. “Pinot Noir is my desert island wine,” says Jay, “and I love the Pinots from Oregon. I’ve been drinking wines from Willamette Valley since 1983. People used to talk about their potential, but now you can taste what that potential has become— earth and elegance.” In 2012, as Jay was winding down his fulltime role in the music industry, he approached his friend, Jean-Nicolas, with the idea of starting a winery together in Willamette Valley. “Jean-Nicolas and I have been friends since 1988. We share very similar philosophies about life, business, wine and friendship. Nicolas-Jay is about making the very best Pinot Noir we can possibly make. It is also about building something together that one day we hope our kids will be a part of. When you look at the great domaines of the world, these two ideas go hand in hand.”

Jean-Charles Boisset was born into the world of wine in the village of Vougeot, Burgundy, France. His lifelong passion for wine began as a child, as he grew up above the cellars and within view of the centuries-old vineyards of Château du Clos de Vougeot, the epicenter and birthplace of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

His parents, Jean-Claude and Claudine founded the family winery in 1961 with an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in one of the most traditional winegrowing regions in the world. Today, the family collection includes wineries that share more than 20 centuries of combined winemaking heritage and tradition in some of the world’s most prestigious terroirs, from Burgundy to the South of France, to California’s Napa Valley and Russian River Valley.

Jean-Charles leads the family firm with passionate commitment to fine wine, history, quality and a deep respect for the environment. He implemented organic and Biodynamic farming at all the family’s estate vineyards in Burgundy and California. Together with his sister Nathalie, he created Domaine de la Vougeraie, uniting the family’s Burgundy vineyards, including prestigious monopoles such as the Vougeot 1er Cru Clos Blanc de Vougeot — planted in 1110 by the Cistercian monks, into one of Burgundy’s leading domaines. He instituted the concept of “viniculture”, redefining the company’s traditional role to encompass a close and active interest in all aspects of winegrowing to ensure premium quality and sustainable farming practices. He refashioned and elevated the family’s founding winery bearing his father’s name — Jean-Claude Boisset— into a premier boutique vigneron in the Cotes de Units.

In 2003 Jean-Charles brought DeLoach Vineyards, a pioneering producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Zinfandel in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, into the family collection. He immediately recognized the similarities to Burgundy: each boast a confluence of river, mountains, and soil that is perfect for growing world-class Pinot Noir. He began a mission, inspired by his Burgundian heritage to produce terroir-driven wines with the same commitment to terroir and organic and Biodynamic farming he had instituted in Burgundy. In 2009 Jean-Charles’ quest for California wineries with a sense of history, heritage and a pioneering spirit led him to Raymond Vineyards in the Napa Valley, where five generations of family winemaking anchors it to the earliest days of the Napa Valley. Under his vision, Raymond has become a leading producer of luxury fine wines, implemented organic and Biodynamic farming on its 150-acre Rutherford & St. Helena estate vineyards and become among the most dynamic winery destinations in California, earning “Winery of the Year” honors from Wine Enthusiast magazine. In 2011, Jean-Charles’ dream of championing California wine history became a reality when Buena Vista Winery, California’s first premium winery founded in 1857, became a part of Boisset Collection.

Jean -Charles continued to grow the Boisset Collection with the introduction of JCB tasting lounges in St. Helena (2011); at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco (2015); Yountville (2016), including the épicerie Atelier Fine Foods; the JCB Salon Privé in Yountville (2017); and in Healdsburg (2018). Jean -Charles continued his legacy of pioneering innovations in 2018 with the introduction of JCB Spirits, luxury vodkas and gin distilled from Burgundy wine made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that includes the first-ever caviar-infused and truffle-infused vodkas.

In 2019 Boisset Collection acquired Oakville Grocery, with the nearly 140-year-old flagship location in Oakville in Napa Valley (the oldest continually operating grocery in California) as well as the store in Healdsburg, which sits on the historic Healdsburg Plaza. A Victorian house dating from 1874 also sits on the Oakville property, which Jean-Charles has turned into the 1881 Napa Valley Wine History Museum and Wine Tasting, which opened its doors in June 2019. Visitors can peruse the first-of-its-kind in Napa Valley collection of relics related to the wine trade, winemaking, viticulture and cooperage as well as many of Jean-Charles’ antique decanters. In addition, guests learn about the various sub-appellations of Napa Valley through displays and by tasting wines from those varied regions.

Jean-Charles has expanded from the world of wine and spirits to include a lifestyle vision; he has created namesake collections for jewelry, perfume and the JCB Passion Collection by Baccarat — the first glassware line the historic French crystal company has ever done with a vintner. In addition, the JCB offerings include home accessories that exemplify the JCB world of hospitality and entertaining. As a natural extension of his growing influence in the lifestyle realm, in June 2019 Senses by JCB, a fashion and fragrance boutique and medi-spa debuted in the JCB Village in Yountville. Senses showcases high-profile luxury fashion, accessories and skincare products from around the world, with highlights including a selection of vintage handbags as well as an osmologue machine that enables guests to blend custom scents.

Jean-Charles’ sets forth a vision of the wine and luxury worlds centered on family, passion, history, innovation and a commitment to sustainability. Decanter magazine has included him on its “Power List” of the 50 most important people in the wine world each year of its publication since 2007; in March 2008, he received the Meininger’s International Wine Entrepreneur of the Year; and in December 2008, he was named “Innovator of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast. The French-American Foundation awarded him their first-ever French-American Partnership Award in 2013, bestowed upon an extraordinary individual or organization that has contributed to creating a strong and enduring French-American partnership in business, government or academia. Haute Living named him to the Haute List San Francisco, recognizing the 100 most influential people in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was honored with the 2014 “Jefferson Award” by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which celebrates the museum’s historical connection to wine. Also, in 2014, JFK University in Concord named Jean-Charles and his wife Gina Gallo its “Entrepreneurs of the Year.” In 2015 Jean-Charles was named an Honorary Co-Chair of that year’s Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction, which broke all records by raising a staggering $4.5 million. In March 2017, Jean-Charles and Gina received the “Mondavi Food & Wine award” “Robert Mondavi Wine & Food award” by The Collins College of Hospitality Management in honor of their vision and leadership to advance the wine industry. In May 2019 Jean-Charles accepted the Wine Country Business of the Year French American Business Award from the French American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco.

Laura Catena was born into Argentina’s most prominent wine family, but her intellectual curiosity and grand vision have taken the Catena family legacy far beyond its storied vineyards. After her father, Nicolás, put Argentina on the world map of wine, Laura, a Harvard and Stanford trained Biologist and Physician, became Managing Director of Bodega Catena Zapata and vowed to elevate Argentine Malbec to world-class status. Today she is doing the same with Catena’s cool-climate Chardonnays and single-vineyard Malbecs. And from the beginning, she has generously shared all that she has learned with winemakers and viticulture scholars around the world. In 1995, she founded the Catena Institute of Wine, which works with the University of California, Davis and Universidad Nacional de Cuyo in Mendoza to advance the quality of Argentine wine and to study the Malbec variety around the world. In 2010 the prestigious USA publisher Chronicle Books released Laura’s book, Vino Argentino: An Insider’s Guide to the Wines and Wine Country of Argentina, a guide to dozens of wineries and personalities in Argentina’s past and current wine history.

Scientific method has always been part of Laura’s DNA. In addition to work at the winery and the institute, she is an emergency physician at the University of California, San Francisco, and a professor in the medical school there. She divides her time between Mendoza, Argentina, and San Francisco, California. When she joined the family winery, in the mid- 1990’s Laura realized that only through extensive research would she be able to find a vineyard location in Argentina that could some day stand among the world’s “grand-cru” sites, what she calls working with “science and a great deal of luck to find vineyard gold.”

The results of her meticulous scientific methodology have made Bodega Catena Zapata’s high altitude Adrianna Vineyard wines prized among today’s sophisticated collectors seeking totemic wines that will evolve for decades in the cellar. “The Malbec That Defies All Your Expectations” was the headline on Saveur’s December 2015 rave about the 2010 Adrianna Vineyards Malbec, a review that marveled over how Catena’s winemaking techniques reflected the mile-high terroir in a wine of “depth, flavor, and an ineffable character.”

Argentina’s wine industry as a whole has improved since the creation of the Catena Institute of Wine; the Institute’s team completes more than 1,000 separate experimental microvinifications each year covering topics which range from soil and microbiome effects on aroma and flavor, to high altitude sunlight intensity, to new varieties for Argentina and the ageability of high altitude wines. Its university partnerships in the U.S., Europe, and Argentina produce a steady flow of research papers—more than 20 thus far, published in academic journals around the world, which include the American Journal of Viticulture and Enology and Food Science.

Laura Catena has developed the Catena reputation far beyond what it was, and in the process has lifted all of Argentine wine in the eyes of the world.

Moving to Pritchard Hill when he was 10 years old, Cyril Chappellet has witnessed the transformation of the Napa Valley into one of the world’s great winegrowing regions. The eldest son of Molly and Donn Chappellet, Cyril grew up working in the vineyard and winery. At 18, Donn and Molly encouraged Cyril to make his own career choices and to explore life away from the family business.

After studying farm management at Cal Poly and completing his business education at Pepperdine University, Cyril began a career in corporate planning and acquisitions. In 1988, after nearly a decade of honing his business skills, Cyril returned to Pritchard Hill to join the Chappellet team. “The finest wineries around the world reflect a commitment that goes beyond one generation,” says Cyril. “At Chappellet, this ongoing commitment is key to our continued ability to make extraordinary wines. It has also elevated Pritchard Hill as one of the world’s finest locations for producing ultra-premium wine.”

Prior to being named chairman of the board, Cyril spent many years as the winery’s managing director. In this role, he was instrumental in guiding the day-to-day workings of the winery, overseeing sales and marketing efforts and working with his parents and siblings to ensure the ongoing vitality of the business. During his tenure as managing director, Chappellet was recognized for making some of the finest wines in its storied history, and Pritchard Hill catapulted to center stage as California’s premier location for mountain-grown Bordeaux varietals, most notably, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cyril was elected chairman of the winery’s family-run board of directors in 2012, becoming the only person other than his father, Donn, to hold this position in the history of Chappellet Vineyard. Today, Cyril is actively involved in every aspect of the winery’s operations and works closely with his family to ensure the continued success of Chappellet.

Cyril’s intimate connection with Pritchard Hill, where he lives with his wife Blakesley and their quarter horses, Dragon, Patron and Rico, often finds him lending a skilled hand wherever needed. Whether building a horse corral, driving a forklift in the winery, or barbecuing for guests, Cyril enjoys being hands-on. “Doing whatever it takes is the nature of a family business,” says Cyril. “It is also part of the charm.”

In addition to the many hats he wears at Chappellet, Cyril has been a board member of the Napa Valley Vintners Association, of which Chappellet was the 18th registered member. (There are 425 members today.) He is also actively involved with the Wine Service Co-Op that Chappellet helped to found in 1972. Cyril also served as chair of the 2012 Auction Napa Valley, which raised $8.2 million for local charities. When not working on behalf of Chappellet or the Napa Valley wine industry, Cyril is an avid horseman, and a member of the Charlie Russell Riders and Los Rancheros Visitadores.

Ann Colgin

Ann Colgin has helped forge a reputation for California wines as amongst the greatest red wines of the world. From the first vintage in 1992, Colgin has produced highest quality wines from exceptional hillside vineyards in Napa Valley. These unique sites, coupled with meticulous vineyard management and neo-classical winemaking techniques, produce wines with distinctive personalities.

As a vintner, an art collector and an avid philanthropist, Ann Colgin is a renaissance woman with a playful and elegant personality that imbues everything she does with beauty and passion. It should come as no surprise that the acclaimed vintner began her career in the world of fine art. Ann completed her undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt University, followed by an M.A. at New York University. She went on to complete Sotheby’s Decorative Arts Course in London and was subsequently President of Fairchilds Fine Art, Inc. She is an Executive Committee Member of the Board of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and The Centre Pompidou Foundation.

To date, Ann’s donations of rare verticals and large format bottles of Colgin wines, given to carefully chosen charities dedicated to health care, community services and the arts, have helped to raise over $13 million. She is a founding vintner and Honorary Trustee of the Naples Winter Wine Festival where she served as Auctioneer for the first twelve years helping to bring in more than $100 million for at-risk and underprivileged children.

Ann shares her verve and zest for life with her husband, Joe Wender, an esteemed wine connoisseur. They are lead investors in Camille Giroud, a negotiant in Beaune, France.

About
The story of Cornell Vineyards began two decades ago when Henry Cornell discovered an untouched parcel of land on a former stagecoach route in Sonoma County. Located West of Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain district, it was apparent early settlers tended to vines there once upon a time. With respect for the land foremost in his mind, Henry purchased the rugged, untamed property and returned the rolling hillsides to vineyards.

For twenty years, Henry and his wife Vanessa have accepted the challenges of doing right by the land and invested in a sustainable infrastructure that gives back more than it borrows. Fueled by a desire to leave a legacy to their five children, the Cornells patiently waited until their ninth harvest to produce their first commercial vintage of Cornell Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon in 2013.

With just three vintages released, Cornell Vineyards has found a seat in an elite group of vintners producing world-class Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma County. Under the guidance of winemakers Francoise Peschon and Elizabeth Tangney, the wine is receiving recognition among consumers, trade, and press.

The Land
The Cornell Vineyards estate is located in the Mayacamas Range about 35 miles East of the Pacific Ocean and two miles West of the Napa County line. The property is 240 wild acres with sweeping views in every direction and a microcosm of almost absurd geological diversity. Derived from ancient sea beds and volcanoes, the colorful soils are comprised of volcanic rock, sandstone, shale, cobblestone and loamy clay.

Vineyards
The diversity of the landscape at Cornell Vineyards and the rolling terrain led to the identification of 20 distinct blocks originally planted in 2001, and partially replanted in 2013.

With vines as with wine, there is no substitute for the passing of time when it comes to acquiring and expressing the elements of greatness; an equilibrium must be reached, roots and vine architecture established, and the need for irrigation and fertilization minimized or eliminated.

Approaching their third decade now, the vines at Cornell Vineyards have had time to get to know the mountain – its diverse, colorful soils, extreme terrain, and distinct seasons – and the team has had time to get to know the vines and the unique wines they produce.

In the vineyard, the team continually seeks to deepen their understanding of the intricacies of the land in order to capture its expression most faithfully. That knowledge comes with time, but also with a certain intimacy rooted in the love of a place.

In 2015 Henry and Vanessa Cornell invited the vineyard crew and their families to live on the property year-round, to share the bond they feel with the land and make it their home. This has yielded a mutual commitment and deep connection to the estate which is at once nature, farm and home.

Cornell Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
The Cornell team believes that wine is a part of a healthy life. It is a privilege to make wine that represents their commitment and responsibility to this great land, and its living creatures.
The winemaking and vineyard team is aligned to produce a wine that expresses balance, elegance, a sense of place and commands respect in a competitive worldwide arena.

2015 Vintage
75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot, 7% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc
Elevage: 20 months in 62% new oak
Harvested: Sept 15 – Oct 1, 2015
Cases Produced: 735
Release Date: September 12, 2018

2014 Vintage
87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc
Elevage: 19 months in 70% new oak
Harvested: Sept 16 – Oct 4, 2014
Cases Produced: 642
Release Date: September 12, 2017

2013 Vintage
93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Petit Verdot
Elevage: 23 months in 70% new oak
Harvest Dates: Sept 17 – Oct 4, 2013
Cases Produced: 525
Release Date: September 15, 2016

Sustainability
As Cornell Vineyards enters its third decade, inspiration is drawn from the footsteps that first walked on this land. Every day, the team works in harmony with this wild land respecting the delicate balance of nature and understanding the powerful potential of human interaction. The team is led by humble intentions to honor this place sustainably.

Since 2014, Cornell Vineyards has been certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). This validates their commitment to organic standards promoting and enhancing the unique biodiversity, biological cycles, soil fertility, and ecological harmony of the land.

Cornell Vineyards is also certified fish friendly farming by the California Land Stewardship Institute for their work to restore natural habitat conditions for the endangered Steelhead trout, Chinook and Coho salmon species.

Henry & Vanessa Cornell, Proprietors
Having lived a significant portion of his life overseas, Henry Cornell learned early on that wine is an excellent way to connect with people of different cultures. He always brings a bottle of wine to lunch or dinner as an icebreaker. And while a lifetime of tasting, reading, learning and collecting naturally led to an appreciation of European wines, when it came time to start his own wine venture – the logical conclusion to this lifelong love of wine – Henry settled on California.

As a young adult in San Francisco in the 1970’s, Henry became acquainted with some of the “classic” California Cabernets—wines like BV, Montelena, Raymond, Heitz—and it was a wine profile he never forgot. When he first saw the property that would become Cornell Vineyards, he was enamored by the sheer beauty and history of the property. It drew him in and he knew he had to make a wine from this place.

Vanessa Cornell shares a deep connection with their property and firmly believes in creating an ethos where care for both the land and the people working on it go hand in hand. Vanessa was inspired to launch an artist in residence program and the development of a culinary garden.

Together, Henry and Vanessa lead a team of talented wine industry professionals from Napa and Sonoma, who are manifesting their dream of building a legacy and making a world-class wine that is worthy of the place it was born.

Vanessa is the founder of NUSHU Society, a women’s membership community grounded in wellness and empowerment. In addition, she serves on the Leadership Council of the Mt. Sinai Children’s Health and Development Institute and is involved in women’s alumnae initiatives at her alma maters, St. Paul’s School and Harvard College. Passions include surfing, rock climbing, contemporary Japanese ceramics and wine.

Henry is the founder of Cornell Capital and sits on the board of trustees of Mount Sinai Hospital, the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Asia Society, and the Navy SEAL Foundation, and is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Henry and Vanessa reside in New York with their five children and return to their team at Cornell Vineyards often.

David Duncan

President and CEO of Silver Oak & Twomey since 2002, David R. Duncan has emerged as an industry leader. One of America’s most renowned and recognized wine brands, Silver Oak & Twomey’s relentless pursuit of excellence – “we have yet to make our best bottle of wine” – has propelled the company to forefront of innovation in the industry and beyond.

David’s commitment to quality and continuous improvement is a constant driving force at Silver Oak & Twomey – from identifying new vineyard sites, to encouraging employee innovation, to developing a sustainability ethos that permeates the company’s culture. Silver Oak’s Oakville Winery is one of the most visible examples to date. Rebuilt under David’s leadership in 2008 with advanced energy, water-saving and winemaking technologies, in 2016 the winery became LEED Platinum certified – the first commercial winery in the world to gain Platinum status.

In 2015, David’s forward-thinking was a leading factor in the company’s decision to purchase The Oak Cooperage in Higbee, Missouri, making Silver Oak the first North American winery to own and operate an American oak barrel cooperage. Owning a cooperage gives Silver Oak complete control over the quality and supply of the American oak barrels that are a key factor in the style – aroma, flavor and texture – of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon.

Never resting on his laurels, David has his eyes set on the future of the company, most notably the building of Silver Oak’s new winery in Alexander Valley, opening in 2017. Inspired by the re-build of the Oakville winery, David set out to find the perfect site to grow exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon and provide a first-rate, unrivaled customer experience. Like Oakville, the new winery will use cutting-edge technologies and seek Platinum LEED certification. David’s goal is to build the most sustainable winery in the world, a vision driven by wine quality and business ethics.

An industry spokesman, David appears on behalf of Silver Oak & Twomey and the California wine industry on CBS This Morning, CNBC, Bloomberg News, FOX News; his quotes appear in national publications including Entrepreneur, Associated Press, Wine Spectator. Even with his hands-on commitment to Silver Oak & Twomey, David chairs and participates on various industry and community boards including the Napa Valley Vintners, Auction Napa Valley, and the St. Helena Hospital Foundation.

David lives in St. Helena with his wife Kary, an MD with a private dermatology practice, and their three children.

Karynne O. Duncan, MD

An accomplished medical professional with a private dermatology practice in the Napa Valley, Dr. Kary Duncan has been actively involved in serving her community both as a physician and as a volunteer. For more than a decade she served on the Board of Directors at OLE Health, a non-profit community health center that serves one in four residents in the Napa Valley. In 2014, she and her husband, David, co-chaired Auction Napa Valley with Jeff and Valerie Gargiulo, raising the most money at a wine auction in U.S. history. Kary and David were also co-chairs of the capital campaign at the St. Helena Montessori School and were instrumental in propelling the school from a one-room-schoolhouse to a state-of-the-art campus that now provides education from the toddler years through eighth grade. Lastly, Kary and David have been ardent supporters of the St. Helena Hospital and in 2016 the “Kary and David Duncan Endowed Chair for Medical Innovation” was established.

Dr. Duncan is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Dermatology. Before moving to the Napa Valley, she was on faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in the departments of Internal Medicine and Dermatology. She also served as the Assistant Chief of Medicine at the University of Colorado Hospital. In addition to running her own private practice in St. Helena, Dr. Duncan remains active in the world of academic dermatology. She a clinical instructor at the Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Dermatology and is a member of the test writing committee for the American Board of Dermatology. She has published numerous papers and book chapters and in 2014 co-authored, with 3 other colleagues, a dermatology textbook entitled Dermatology Essentials.

At Silver Oak and Twomey Cellars, she was instrumental in the rebuild of the Napa Valley winery as a key advisor on architecture and design issues and serves as a “family ambassador” at winery events, including those that support the philanthropic organizations with which she and David are closely involved. Kary lives in St. Helena with her husband and three children, Connor, Maeve, and Jack.

Grace and Ken Evenstad founded Domaine Serene in the Dundee Hills of Oregon in 1989 with a mission to produce world class Pinot Noir. The Evenstads had faith and confidence in Oregon early on, before there was a national market for domestic Pinot Noir.

Today, Domaine Serene produces wines from their six individual vineyard estates, planted exclusively to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Each estate offers a diversity of soils, clones, rootstocks, microclimates, slopes and elevations that add distinguishing complexity and elegance to the wines. In total, the Evenstads own over 1,000 acres of land in the hills of Yamhill County, with 280 acres planted to vine.

In 2001, the Evenstads completed construction of their current state-of-the art, five-level, gravity flow Pinot Noir winery. In Spring 2018, they completed a new winery dedicated solely to the production of Chardonnay and Sparkling wine, the first of its kind in Oregon. The wineries are located on the beautiful Winery Hill Estate in the world-class Dundee Hills AVA. In 2017 Domaine Serene opened a new best-in-class hospitality center, the Clubhouse at Domaine Serene, that is changing the landscape of fine wine hospitality in the Pacific Northwest.

In 2015, Ken and Grace acquired Château de la Crée, the respected wine estate located in the birthplace of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the renowned Côte d’Or. They are the only Oregon-based vintners to own land and produce wines in Burgundy, France. Parcels are owned in 18 vineyards throughout the Côte de Beaune in Pommard, Volnay, Meursault, Puligny-Montrachet, Chassagne-Montrachet, Santenay and Maranges, 40% of which are Premier Cru.

For the past 30 years, Domaine Serene, under the guidance of the Evenstads, has been focused on excellence in a never-ending quest to produce world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Domaine Serene’s wines represent the achievement that is possible in Oregon, one of the finest regions in the world for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Recent Accolades:

In 2019, London’s renowned Decanter magazine awarded Domaine Serene five gold medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

In 2018, Grace and Ken were recipients of Wine Spectator’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award. The award, given once a year, is a tribute to those that have made significant and long-lasting contributions to the wine industry.

Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines of 2016 named Domaine Serene’s 2014 Evenstad Reserve Chardonnay the best white wine in the world.

In 2016, London’s Decanter magazine named Domaine Serene’s 2012 Winery Hill Pinot Noir the top Pinot Noir in the world at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Erwan Faiveley
Erwan has always had a passion for Burgundy and its wines. He took over from his father François Faiveley in 2004 to manage the family estate, becoming the 7th generation of the family to lead the domain, created in 1825. He brought a new dynamism to the family business while continuing the same quest for excellence as his forefathers. In 2014, his sister Eve, passionate for luxury and aesthetics, joined him at the head of the family business. Together, they are committed to producing fine wines that reflect their terroirs.

Erwan has also been expanding Faiveley’s vines. Today, the estate is spread over 120 hectares with ‘climats’ located in the Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune and Côte chalonnaise. 12 Grands Crus & 25 Premiers Crus, 6 of them being ‘monopoles’, as well as other exceptionally diversified parcels, make this estate one of the most prestigious wine domains in Burgundy.

In 2013, Erwan launched an investment program, renovating the Mercurey winery dedicated to the 70 hectares in the Côte Chalonnaise. Since 2016 Erwan has been reshaping new state-of-the-art vinification facilities in Nuits-Saint-Georges that look like an “Eiffel-style railway station” dedicated to the finest Faiveley wines, which have been inaugurated with the 2018 vintage.

As a lifetime farmer, Jeff Gargiulo has always been passionate about the land and agriculture, and today that passion is focused on grape growing and fine wine making. Thirty years ago, he and his wife Valerie dreamed of one day building a premier wine estate. That dream took shape in the early 1980s when Jeff and Valerie and their young family traveled to Napa Valley to visit Valerie’s cousins, Barney and Belle Rhodes. Napa Valley icons, Barney and Belle Rhodes had been in the Napa Valley since the late 1960s growing grapes in Rutherford at Bella Oaks Vineyard. Jeff and Valerie were inspired by their cousin’s Napa Valley lifestyle and confident that with their help and Jeff’s agricultural knowledge they could achieve their dream and make some of the finest wines in the world. Twelve years later and with countless hours of coaching from Barney and Belle, Jeff and Valerie purchased their first vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley, Money Road Ranch in 1992. Seven years later they purchased their second Oakville property, 575 OVX.

From the beginning, the Gargiulo’s were committed to creating a world class Cabernet Sauvignon wine estate. From his years spent farming, Jeff Gargiulo, knew that if he didn’t start with the very best land, he could never expect to grow the best grapes. For this reason, the Gargiulo’s chose Oakville to establish their namesake winery. Then, like today, Oakville was considered to be amongst the preeminent places to grow Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. The very first vintage of Gargiulo Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon was 2000, and since then Gargiulo Vineyards has quietly taken its place among the most highly regarded Cabernet Sauvignon producers in Napa Valley. Not ones to rest on their laurels, Jeff, Valerie, daughter, April and the entire Gargiulo Vineyards’ team continue to strive to make Gargiulo wines the most pure and breathtaking expressions of their two esteemed Oakville vineyards.

Nicolas was born in 1974 and has been living in Bordeaux for 25 years. Wine is a major part of his familial and cultural background. He studied at the University of Oenology in Bordeaux with Professor Denis Dubourdieu and obtained a Master of Genetics applied to oenology.

Then, he studied at the National Agronomic School of Montpellier to become an engineer in viticulture and winemaker. He then worked for Château Haut Brion in 2005 and Château Margaux in 2006. Since January 2007 he has been the manager of Château Montrose, in collaboration with Jean Bernard DELMAS until 2011.

Since 2012, he is the General Manager and Winemaker of Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac) and Château de Pez (Saint-Estèphe), owned by Champagne Louis Roederer.

Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini’s parents were from Bologna, but she was born in Rome and grew up there, and does not come from a family of wine producers. She worked in the film industry for many years as a producer and co-partner of Luca Barbareschi, and in the pharmaceutical sector. Fascinated by the countryside and wine, which she considers a world of strong deep-rooted values, different to those of the film industry, and excited about regaining contact with a genuineness that could not be found elsewhere, she developed such a passion for this work that she became entirely devoted to it.

She became interested, above all, in Tenuta di Caparzo in Montalcino, showing her desire to learn by starting to personally follow all production phases at the winery.

Today, the wineries she owns are the outcome of several purchases that gradually made her dream, of owning a property in Tuscany, come true.

The opportunity came in 1997, when she purchased Borgo Scopeto in the Chianti Classico area, between Siena and Vagliagli. Borgo Scopeto, which is now a luxury hotel, was refurbished – with an investment of about 30 million euros – and carefully restored. Elisabetta took care of this herself, choosing all the details, from materials to furnishings, turning it into a magnificent country relais hotel, chosen by the film director Gary Winick as the setting for scenes in his film “Letters to Juliet”, starring Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave and Franco Nero.

The film, released in 2010, did surprisingly well at the U.S. box office. The appearance in the film of Brunello Caparzo wine led to a remarkable rise in sales of Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini’s Brunello in the United States. Borgo Scopeto is not only a charming relais hotel but also a major winery and farm business that produces Chianti Classico wine and extraordinary extra-virgin olive oil.

In 1998, Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini also purchased Caparzo, her “first love”, the historic winery in Montalcino founded in 1970, when there were only a dozen wine producers around the beautiful village to the south of Siena, and nobody could have imagined the success and sensation that Brunello would later create. Moreover, Caparzo can be credited with making one of the first Montalcino crus, a Brunello made from the grapes of a single vineyard, known as La Casa. Its soils are particularly suited to vine growing and it has excellent exposure. Since its first appearance in 1977, Brunello Vigna La Casa has established itself as one of the most prestigious wines of Montalcino, leading the way for many other crus that were created, above all, in the 1990s. Not by chance was Brunello Vigna La Casa chosen as one of the protagonist wines of the Japanese Manga series “The Drops of God”, a highly successful comic also exported abroad.

In 2002, Elisabetta purchased Altesino, also situated in Montalcino. It is a small prestigious winery that produces Brunello, with its vineyards partly bordering on those of Caparzo. Altesino is one of the small-medium sized wineries that have made their mark thanks to their excellent quality products. The pride of Altesino products is undoubtedly Montosoli: the first Brunello cru obtained in 1975 from the vineyard of the same name. Observing it from Palazzo Altesi, the 15th-century building that Elisabetta has chosen as her personal residence, the perfectly maintained Montosoli vineyard is an icon in the natural landscape of the area. Wine is made from carefully selected grapes from old vines, and is only sold in the best vintages.

It is such excellent wine that, in 2014, Brunello di Montalcino Montosoli 2008 di Altesino was chosen by Wine Spectator, the “Bible of wine” esteemed by the entire wine-producing sector, as one of the 100 top wines in the world, with a score of 95/100.

Then, 2003 was the first year of production of Morellino di Scansano, made from grapes from the vineyards planted in the Maremma area at the Doga delle Clavule winery (purchased in 2000).

The properties currently cover over 1,100 hectares, including 254 for vine growing, sub-divided as follows:
Caparzo: 83 hectares
Altesino: 44 hectares
Borgo Scopeto: 70 hectares
Doga delle Clavule 57 hectares

Borgo Scopeto also has 7,000 olive trees that cover about 40 hectares of land.
Elisabetta Gnudi Angelini has a son and a daughter, Igino and Alessandra, who both live in Rome but closely follow the family businesses.

Igino Angelini is an environmental engineer and thanks to his efforts Caparzo was the first winery in Montalcino to install solar panels to produce so-called clean energy. All the wineries produce their own energy and are partly autonomous. Caparzo has also implemented a system for the total recovery of water, and along with the other wineries owned by Elisabetta it has chosen the path of eco-sustainability.

In just a few years, Elisabetta’s relationship with wine has become successful and passionate while her complete involvement in her work (she is affectionately called the “vignaiola” or winemaker) has made her so enamored that every harvest and tasting period is an emotional experience. Elisabetta’s wines are renowned almost worldwide. The main markets are the U.S., Canada, all of Europe, China, Japan and Russia. Statistics show that exports predominate and are continuously increasing (since 2009 exports have more than doubled). Currently, 75% of the wine produced is sold abroad and 25% in Italy.

Grace Family Vineyards – Bio
When Dick and Ann Grace settled in St Helena in 1976 with their young family, they did not know they were embarking on a journey that would produce the first “cult wine” and contribute to the lore of Napa Valley Cabernet and the prestige they command today. Upon learning that the soil on their small orchard of olive trees was an optimal terroir for Cabernet grapes, Dick decided to plant an acre of grapes using the celebrated Bosche clone. Grace Family Vineyards, initially released in 1978 as a single vineyard designate under Caymus, quickly gained the attention of wine lovers and critics alike. Under the stewardship of great winemakers including Gary Galleron and Heidi Barrett, Grace Family became widely recognized as a true expression of a beautiful Napa Valley Cabernet and engendered a loyal following.

In the years following, the Graces found another family-owned vineyard ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon and persuaded the family to replant it with cuttings from Grace Family Vineyard. And in 2001, Grace Family released its second wine, a single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from the Blank Vineyard in Rutherford.

In 2014, Helen Keplinger became winemaker, and she and the team embarked on a series of improvements both in the vineyard and the winery. The team’s discerning approach and relentless focus on quality as well as a partial replant has meant there is very limited production. The 2017 vintage will only see 100 cases released. However, the benefits of this paramount focus on quality can be seen in the reception of some of recent vintages, including the awarding of the 2016 Estate wine with its first 100 point rating from James Suckling earlier this year.

While Dick and Ann have played a key role in the evolution of the Napa wine industry, their lasting legacy will be their philanthropy and compassion for others.

With the 40th vintage in barrel, the Graces decided to transition the stewardship of Grace Family Vineyards to a new generation. Having shared both a winemaker and farming team in recent years, the Graces had come to know the Green family and knew they would be the perfect family to shepherd the winery through the next chapter.

Kathryn Green, Proprietor
Kate and her family first moved to St Helena in early 2009. While there were no vines on their property, they started nurturing a 400 tree olive grove and producing their own oil. In 2015 they planted their first vines, and in 2016 they purchased the Van Asperen property and set about replanting this iconic vineyard. In a fateful decision, they decided to work with Helen Keplinger and Kendall Smith and through this they met Dick and Ann Grace and their love affair with Grace Family Vineyards was born.

The Greens have retained all of the team at Grace Family Vineyards and intend to continue the winery’s focus on quality and philanthropy.

Will Harlan

After graduating from Duke University in 2009, Will Harlan began working on a consumer-internet startup in San Francisco, while simultaneously and quietly laying the foundation for a wine project. Announced in 2013, The Mascot – a wine made from the younger vines of the Harlan family domain – marked Will’s official shift into the wine business. Since then, Will has taken on the leadership of Promontory, the Harlan family’s most recently founded winegrowing endeavor in the Napa Valley. Hidden above the southwestern borderlands of Oakville, the lands of Promontory exhibit an exotic geological convergence – an altogether uncharted environment that has spurred an entirely new approach to winegrowing.

Promontory Story
The Harlan family have been winegrowers in California’s Napa Valley since the late 1970s. Their first endeavor, Harlan Estate, over the course of nearly four decades, has established an international benchmark for the art of viticulture. It was in the formative years, in the early 1980s, that H. William Harlan discovered another place – an isolated territory – while hiking along the southwestern ridge of Oakville. The hidden expanse moved him deeply but remained elusive until much later, when the Harlan family finally acquired it in 2008. The second generations of both family and winegrowing team joined together at this time to explore and work with the land, they began to make discoveries of their own. At the core of this wild terrain, they found a powerful geologic convergence that had shaped the land’s steep, rugged topography and created the conditions for an altogether exotic winegrowing environment. Over time they found that the dramatic landscape — just beyond the edge of the known — would slowly change them, and ultimately inspire a new endeavor: Promontory.

Oliver Krug

The eldest of Henri Krug’s five children, Olivier Krug grew up right beside the Krug cellars in Reims. He then went on to study economics and finance in Paris, the city where he was born. In 1989, as he was about to accept his first job in a Paris-based company, his father proposed that he join the family business. At that moment, Olivier became the sixth generation of the Krug family to perpetuate Joseph Krug’s vision when he founded the House of Krug in 1843.

Krug was practically unknown in Japan when Olivier decided to travel there. He would stay for two years and quickly came to understand the culture and mindset of the Japanese nation. One after the other Olivier met Krug’s main distributors, sommeliers, journalists and of course, Krug Lovers. He won them over with his charming personality. He succeeded in opening the way for Krug’s thriving expansion in Japan.

Over the years, the Land of the Rising Sun went on to become Krug’s prime market.

Olivier has since then occupied several positions, while continuing to work in close cooperation with the winemaking team and with his father, who passed on his tasting expertise to him. Today, as Director of Krug, Olivier is part of the tasting committee and continues to foster very special relations between Krug and the winegrowers, when he is not travelling all over the world, spreading the Krug message.

Gilles de Larouzière

Following in the footsteps of seven generations before him, Gilles de Larouzière oversees one of the few remaining family-owned champagne houses, Champagne Henriot, as guardian of its independence and heritage. Named the president of Maisons & Domaines Henriot in 2015, Gilles sits on the board of directors for the company that began in the champagne business in 1808 and has grown into the Burgundy sector over recent decades.

Born in 1974, Gilles studied Public and European Law, graduating from l’Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), followed by receiving his BA in Public Affairs at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. After his studies, Gilles completed his military service as a member of the Alpine Troops assigned to Bosnia where he was part of the NATO (SFOR) Stabilization Force. At the end of his service, Gilles began a career in the strategy consulting industry at Capgemini Consulting, a French multinational information technology and management consulting corporation, where he was a key executive in the Financial Services sector.

In 2011, Gilles joined the board of directors of Maisons & Domaines Henriot, which was founded by his uncle, Group President Joseph Henriot, and his sisters. Through 2015 when his uncle passed away, Gilles worked closely with Joseph to develop the group’s strategy and governance with an eye to the future. Gilles was elected Group President by the family’s shareholders in 2015, making him the eighth generation of the Henriot family to oversee the company.

Gilles lives in Paris with his wife Cécile and their four children.

Maisons & Domaines Henriot America

Established in New York City in 2005 by the Henriot family, Maisons & Domaines Henriot America is an import company specializing in the distribution, sales and marketing of high-end wines produced by wineries which are references in their own region. Representing centuries of family winemaking expertise, the portfolio includes the Henriot family brands, as well as leading producers from Oregon, Italy and France: Champagne Henriot, William Fèvre (Chablis, Burgundy), Bouchard Père & Fils (Burgundy), Château de Poncié (Fleurie, Beaujolais), Beaux Frères (Oregon, USA), Tenuta di Ghizzano (Tuscany, Italy), and Château des Bertrands (Provence, France).

Since founding his namesake winery in 2002, Cliff Lede (pronounced lay-dee) has put every emphasis towards creating a modern and diversified world-class estate. A strategic thinker and visionary, Lede is the driving force of a company that at once holds the values of the great Old World winemaking properties, with the energy, youth and spark of the New World. His wines are intrinsically connected to the land, yet his view point is forward-thinking and entirely fresh. One visit to the Cliff Lede Vineyards property, which is full of contemporary art and is juxtaposed with vineyard blocks named for classic rock songs, and it is clear that to him, wine—like music and art—is a source of great beauty.

Lede grew up involved with his family’s successful construction business in Canada, and first discovered the splendor of the Napa Valley while on a business retreat in the 1990s. An avid long-distance runner, he explored the back roads of Napa Valley throughout his trip. The area resonated a great deal with him, as he had collected Bordeaux wines since his late 20s. Frequent return visits ensued, and he was soon exposed to everything Napa Valley has to offer: beautiful land, some of the world’s greatest restaurants and a core of friendly, passionate and hardworking people that reminded him of his own community.

Lede soon began searching for a property in Napa to purchase, where he could start his own winery. Determined to plant his roots in the Stags Leap District for its complex and age-worthy wines, he remained patient and focused.

Upon learning that a Stags Leap District estate was for sale, Cliff recognized the opportunity and, after months of negotiations, founded Cliff Lede Vineyards. One year later, the southwest facing hillside just above the Silverado Trail became available. Cliff acquired the rare hillside property, naming it the Poetry Vineyard. In 2005, he opened Poetry Inn, one of Napa’s most secluded luxury boutique hotels, perched high above the valley floor overlooking his winery and vineyards. In 2009, he expanded to include cooler-climate varieties from the Anderson Valley and subsequently purchased the Savoy Vineyard, creating a new brand, FEL, named for his mother, Florence Elsie Lede.

Matteo Bruno Lunelli was born on January 31, 1974. He is married and has two children.

Matteo Lunelli is the President and C.E.O of Ferrari Winery, Italy’s leading producer of luxury sparkling wines, founded in Trento in 1902. Matteo is part of the third generation of the Lunelli family; his grandfather, Bruno, acquired the company in 1952 from the founder, Giulio Ferrari. Ferrari produces only sustainably farmed Trentodoc wines, which are bottle-fermented sparkling wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes grown at high altitudes in the mountains of the northern Italian region of Trentino.

Matteo is also the C.E.O. of the Lunelli Group, an Italian beverage group which complements Ferrari with brands that share the same quest for excellence and an indissoluble link with terroir: Surgiva, the exclusive and extremely light mineral water whose source is located in the Adamello Brenta National Park in Trentino; the historic grappa Segnana; Tenute Lunelli still wines from Trentino, Tuscany and Umbria, known for their elegance and longevity; and Bisol, a leading producer of Prosecco Superiore di Valdobbiadene.

Strongly committed to promoting the Italian lifestyle, Matteo is Vice President of the Altagamma Foundation, which unites high-end Italian companies from various sectors in order to promote top-quality Italian industry and the culture of excellence that supports it. He firmly believes in the strong synergies that can be created between the brands that represent the best of the made in Italy.

He is passionate about art and was Vice Chairman of MART, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, internationally known for both its permanent collection as well as its temporary exhibitions.

He graduated with honors in Economics at Bocconi University, Milan and, before joining the family business, gained international experience in financial consulting working for five years at Goldman Sachs International in Zurich, London and New York.

Matteo loves the mountains of his region, Trentino and enjoys skiing. He often travels around the world promoting his wines and he is interested in getting to know other cultures and traditions. He loves gourmet food and he has established interpersonal relationships with top chefs of world-renowned restaurants.

The ingenious winegrower Jean Méo and his wife, Nicole, had three children: Isabelle, Angeline and Jean-Nicolas.

In 1984, Jean Méo proposed that his son should take over the reins of the estate. Just 20 years old and a student at ESCP (the Paris business school), Jean-Nicolas had had no preparation to become a winegrower. After eight days considering the proposal, he agreed to give it a try, finished his studies in France (not without making a detour via the University of Burgundy to study oenology) and set off for the USA, at the University of Pennsylvania, finally coming back to live in Vosne-Romanée from 1989 onwards. It was then that he began to immerse himself in the estate, the vineyards, and the winemaking with his father as his mentor, of course, but also Henri Jayer, who was taking retirement but agreed, nonetheless, to share with him his technical know-how and his art of winemaking. Christian Faurois, son and nephew of other historic tenant farmers, taught him about growing vines and passed on to him his passion for the vineyard.

Taking advantage of the wind of change which was beginning to blow around the region, Jean-Nicolas expressed his opinions, tried new experiments and succeeded in creating a method, very much his own, which he has never stopped refining.

At this time, the sale of wine in bottles with the Méo-Camuzet estate label had already begun (with the 1983 vintage). This was the decision of Jean Méo, who had immediately aimed at a high level of exports, particularly to the USA. Previously, the wines had been sold to négociants in Beaune or Nuits and the few bottles kept for the family carried the Camuzet or Veuve Noirot-Camuzet label marked “Jean Méo, propriétaire à Vosne-Romanée”.

Our new winegrower, having graduated from a business school, promoted his wines by creating an international distribution network, and was to be selected by the most famous sommeliers, which explains the unique position enjoyed by Méo-Camuzet in the great restaurants around the world.

By 2008, the tenant farmers had all taken retirement and Jean-Nicolas now farmed all of the estate’s vineyards. His main difficulty was managing the insufficient supply in a context of increasing demand. At the turn of the century, therefore, he decided, in collaboration with his sisters, to set up a new company: as négociants, they could meet that demand a little better and widen the range in order to take in more affordable wines.

Thus was born the Méo-Camuzet Frère & Soeurs company, with its own specific label. Jean-Nicolas’ conception of négoce, though, is not the traditional one. Indeed, he buys harvests, on the vine, in Fixin, Marsannay, Bourgogne or other vineyards, but that doesn’t mean just buying grapes. Several interventions are carried out during the growing season by the estate’s teams, and most of these plots are monitored for several years, which makes it possible to get to know them as well as the grower does. In fact, it’s very much like renting land.

Today, the Méo-Camuzet is among the most renowned estates in Burgundy.

Jean-Nicolas and his team continue to work on the nose and the taste of their wines, showing respect for nature and passion for the terroir and their profession. Jean-Nicolas is married. With his wife, Nathalie, they have three children: Adrien, born in 1993, Tristan, in 1996, and Séverin, in 2000.

A new generation of engineers or winegrowers; it is too soon to write that new page in the family history.

Paul Michael
The first time Paul Michael set foot on the land that would eventually become Peter Michael Winery, his father set the stage for an experience that was to shape the remainder of his life.

“In 1982, I was with my family on summer vacation in California. Dad told us about a beautiful spot on Mount St. Helena we were all going to go and see together. He said that at some point we were going to ‘plant some vines’. We didn’t quite know what to make of this, but the following spring we found ourselves, just as he had said, standing on that mountainside, planting the first vines of the 16 acres that would become Les Pavots vineyard. I had just turned 18 years old, and I had no idea that this place would come to play such an enormous role in my life.”

Today, Paul, together with his wife, Emily, oversees the winery and ensures that it perpetuates the family’s founding vision of hand-made, terroir-driven wines in the classic tradition of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Paul also oversees the family’s other business holdings in the UK including “The Vineyard”, a five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel in Berkshire. Previously, Paul executive produced the preschool educational television series Tiny Planets (Pequeños Planetas in Spanish-speaking territories), in co-production with Sesame Workshop, which earned two BAFTA awards (British Academy for Film and Television Arts) and has been broadcast in over 100 territories.

Emily Michael
Emily’s first visit to the Peter Michael Winery was in 1996, when she and Paul were engaged.

“I was still speechless, I think, from that, and then speechless at the property. It was breathtakingly beautiful. If someone were to tell me on that day that this land would become such an important part of our lives and of the lives of the children we had yet to have, I wouldn’t have quite believed it.”

After growing up in Wiltshire, in South West England, Emily moved to London to work in the advertising industry before joining the Rod Gunner Organisation, producing numerous music festivals, rock and classical music concerts, American football league matches, and charitable events on behalf of Diana, Princess of Wales, AIDS awareness and leukemia.

Today Emily oversees the Winery’s brand marketing and design as well as the family’s hotel holdings including “The Vineyard”, a five-star Relais & Chateaux hotel located in Berkshire in the UK. Additionally, Emily serves as an ambassador for the Peter Michael Foundation.

From the earliest days, the winery, ranch and surrounding land has become a cherished home away from home for Emily, Paul and their three children, and it continues to be the backdrop for some of their most treasured memories. The Ma Belle-Fille vineyard on the home estate was named in celebration of Emily becoming a part of the family.

For personal reasons, after 36 years at Domaine Ponsot, I left it in February 2017. If I remained hidden and silent, during quite some time, I did not remain inactive in the shadow of my restructuring. On the contrary, I have been working since then on this renaissance, the content of which I will now describe.

First of all, the passion that animates me about vines and wine is intact and these years of experiences taught me that one learns every day. On this basis, I decided to start a new wine adventure with my son Clément (40), whose attachment to this profession is as ingrained as mine. My two other children, Claire and Nicolas will also be shareholders of the new company.

To help me to launch this new vessel, I count on my dear PA for 13 years, Anne-Sophie, my precious cellar master Arnaud, 12 years with me, the same family working for 20 years in my own vineyards, Elisabeth that works on accounts efficiently, and over all my beloved wife Claude, indefectibly supporting me.

At first, I keep farming a nice panel of appellations, either in ownership or in sharecropping, and these are:
-Bourgogne rouge
-Chambolle-Musigny
-Chambolle-Musigny Les Charmes
-Chambertin
-Griotte Chambertin
-Clos Saint Denis

On top of it, we have just acquired vines from which we will produce wines in 2019 :
-Bourgogne rouge
-Gevrey-Chambertin
-Gevrey-Chambertin 1er cru En Ergot
-Chambolle-Musigny
-Chambolle-Musigny 1er cru Les Sentiers
-Bonnes Mares

Our estate is now about 7 hectares and we are ready to add vineyards to farm, studying any serious opportunity.

Without willing to follow a restrictive way of thinking as may be the organic farming or the biodynamy, I continue to be faithful to Nature by cultivating without chemistry, but reserving the possibility, in case of serious pandemic problem to cure our vines with the means of today. In addition, I became a Négociant, and this in an intelligent way, in line with the Great Burgundy Wine Trade which is at the origin of the long-term reputation of the wines of our region. Indeed, for centuries, the system of wine marketing has been the responsibility of négociants. The vine growers used to cultivate the vines, make the wine and sell it in barrels to the négociants within three to six months after the harvest. Négociants were then in charge of the élevage, bottling and marketing.

Before 1950, only ten wineries, and before 1900 only one still existing today, did their own élevage and bottling. The boom in estate bottling began in the early 1970 in Burgundy. And it is also when the négociants had lost a little of their nobility. Some vine growers, eager to keep the best for themselves, but in need of fresh money, have continued to sell part of their crops to the négociants, but their less good wines or grapes. And without the right raw material, no one can work miracles. For their part, négociants who also needed to survive, had no alternative but to buy a little everything and anything, hence their notoriety down. But we are seeing more and more in Burgundy a revival of the “Grand Négoce”. So, for me, “négociant” is not a bad word and I wish, thanks to a careful and appropriate supply, to produce “haute couture” wines.

I already have excellent contacts with serious providers that lead me to produce either by buying grapes, must or barrels the appellations listed below, and surely more in the future. And when I buy in barrels, I want these barrels to get in the cellar as soon as possible after the harvest, assuming that our élevage is at least as important as the production itself.

If I had to adopt a child and if it is a baby, he would become my own child at once, but if I adopt him as a teenager, he would remain marked by his experience and it would be more difficult to change his character. Restarting an activity from zero is a challenge and I am confronted with a lack of space and my means are still limited until I have sold my first bottle. This is to say that I have limited myself in our supplies while waiting for the construction of a new building, which I will describe later in this text.

Of course, our quest for an alliance between history and high technology continues and I keep all the fruits of my past research, such as, among others, the technological closure, élevage without sulfur but under neutral gas, the control the temperature of “intelligent cases”, the protection of authenticity, etc. Moreover, with the first shipments started in the late fall of 2018, our bottles of Grands Crus appellations will become “connected”. Indeed, thanks to the use of new NFC chips, called NFC banking, we will be able to give to the final consumer the opportunity to check if the bottle he holds in his hands is the one that comes from our house. These chips have the distinction of being tamper-proof because they change their IP address in a chaotic way every time someone reads them. In addition, related to the temperature sensor that equips each box, they can return the history of the temperature between the departure from our company and the exit of the box. An on top of it, we can establish a connection between customers and the winery.

As you know, I am resistant to the use of new oak barrels whose addition of an “oak” taste is for me like the addition of natural extracts of fruits or flowers in the wines: it comes neither from the terroir, or from original grapes. I consider that the barrel is only a way to oxygenate the wine by respecting its aging cycle. While waiting to be sufficiently comfortable in future buildings to increase my researches, I am already starting an experiment on the alternative to barrel aging by ultra-nano-oxygenation. It took me 20 years to get to the perfect cork, but I hope it will take less in this new study.

Many other ideas have sprouted that I will achieve little by little as among others:
-Wine making vats specifically designed for red wine and other for white wine of which I already have prototypes …
-Futuristic labels …
-Packaging never seen in Burgundy
-Etc.

Our new company will not be a “Domaine” or a “Maison,” but just an entity. And its name will be mine, not out of vanity or to feed an oversized ego, but on the contrary to remain humble in relation to Nature and to be able to assume at the same time the pleasure that we will be able to give through our wines, but also clumsiness possibly induced by a work “without safety net.”

We have chosen a logo representative of this state of mind:
-Vintners & Negociants : the logo is inspired by this double belonging to the world of the vine and the one of the wine.
-The green of the L is inspired by the color of the small vine leaves that come out of the buds while the dark gray of the P evokes the half-light of the cellars.
-The L descends from the sky and the P plugs its roots in the terroir.
-The horizontal bars of the two letters are open to the world …

In 2015, I kept only one barrel of each of my wines, except 3 of Corton Charlemagne. All the labels of this vintage will be marked “An zero” meaning year zero, considering that the vintage 1 will be the 2016. They will undoubtedly become collector bottles! In 2016, the frost killed about 2 berries on three at the end of April, giving a quite low yield. The production was 47,000 bottles in total. In 2017, Nature was generous and the normal yield came back, especially in the whites. That allow us to produce, including some new appellations, 80,000 bottles. In 2018, also a vintage with good quantities, we will produce around the same number of bottles as in 2017, including new appellations. In the future, with our new winery build, we will add more appellations and more wines from the existing ones.

Earlier, I mentioned a future building … It is actually a “building of the future!” The new winery will be built under the rules and with the tools of the 21st century, on the foundations of 2000 years of winemaking history in Burgundy.

So, “FUTURE” is the key word of our new adventure.

Cheers!

History

In the beginning of the 1980’s my father finished high school and had followed in his father’s footsteps studying economics. Quickly realising a life in economics wasn’t for him and unsure of which path to take, he dropped out of university and decided to travel the world. He eventually found himself working as a lumberjack in the highlands of Scotland, where he met my mother. After some time in Scotland they decided to move back to my dad’s home, South Australia. They first started working in the Barossa in the early eighties. Soon realising how much they were being paid working vintages and enjoying the local wine culture, they decided to hang around a while longer.

This continued for some years, which allowed them to work hard throughout the harvest and pruning season and then spend all of their money travelling through the rest of the year. After time the Barossan wine culture started to make its mark on my parents. They had the opportunity to work for some stalwarts of the Australian wine world; including Peter Lehmann, Yalumba, Wolf Blass, Saltram and Rockford. Time spent travelling turned to working Northern Hemisphere vintages in the old world of wine, mostly through Northern Italy and France’s Rhone Valley.

These experiences led them to understand the secret to success of the Barossa’s wine: its ancient, dry-grown old Rhone grapevines which had been planted a century ago by the Barossa’s original settlers – and in the soil and climate which suit those varieties so well.

By the beginning of the nineties they scoured the Barossa looking for available old vines for which to make their own wine. Due to the recent wine glut and resulting vine pull scheme many of the vineyard’s owners had neglected their vines for some years, some looking to uproot and turn the land to grazing.

The growers were convinced otherwise. My parents then developed a share farming agreement, in which they would work the vines and over years bring them back to health, which would provide them with a share of the fruit to make their own wine. After five years the vines began to produce a crop and my mother and father now had access to some of the most sought after grapes in the Barossa and from some of its oldest, most sacred vines.

They named their brand after the place that they had met in Scotland, and its wine quickly received international acclaim. The wines had been described as “having one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere”.

At the beginning of 2014 my father and I began a new chapter: Powell and Son. We had a vision to create expressive wines which tell of true Barossan terroir and its diversity. We chose the six vineyards which we believed to be the most expressive of the different Barossan districts throughout the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley – planted to Shiraz, Grenache and Mataro.

I had spent my childhood in the Barossa growing up with my father in the hot and sunny Marananga of the Barossa Valley, as well as the cooler, high hills of Flaxman’s Valley in Eden Valley with my mother. I understand their difference in wine style, but equal greatness of the two regions and I want our wines to reflect that. Therefore approximately half of our production is from each region. Our most premium wines are two single vineyard shirazes – one from Flaxman’s Valley in Eden and one from Marananga in the Barossa.

The six vineyards we chose represent our single vineyard series: two Shiraz vineyards from each the Barossa Valley and Eden Valley, one Grenache vineyard and one Mataro vineyard. Some of these vineyards are the same vines that my parents first brought back to life and my family has now been tending to for over two decades. Many now live well into their second century of age. We name our single vineyard wines after the original settling family that had the foresight to plant those vines to the variety and soil that they did over one hundred years ago. For those people we will be eternally grateful.
We make five wines under our regional series, which showcase traditional styles of wines that have been made in the Barossa and stood the test of time: a Grenache Shiraz Mataro blend; a blend of Barossa and Eden Valley Shiraz, a Barossa Valley Shiraz and an Eden Valley Riesling. In this series we also produce a Barossa Valley blend of Roussanne Marsanne, which we recognise as one of the great white wine styles of the world and is our most premium white wine that we make.

From our focus on terroir expression we believe it important that we work the vineyards ourselves and so in the Winter season we prune the vines and maintain through Spring and Summer, then vinify the grapes in Autumn. We use rod and spur for our Shiraz and bush vine pruning methods for our Grenache and Mataro. We employ a minimalistic approach in the vineyard to ensure an honest expression of that vineyard site through to the bottle. Our viticultural management involves organic practices and some of our vineyards are run biodynamically.

The vinification process is highly oxidative; involving open concrete fermenters, pumping over and basket pressing. After fermentation we are highly reductive to retain the wine’s character. All wines are aged in French oak and in a combination of large oak foudré, barriques and puncheons.

We aim for freshness of fruit, vibrancy and liveliness but will not compromise vineyard expression. All viticultural and vinification decisions are made based on a balance of these two qualities. By doing so we believe that we create wines that are expressive of their place: our home, the Barossa.

Kathleen and Francis Rooney, Naples residents and lifetime trustees of the NCEF embarked on a new venture in 2014 by founding Bodega 202. The bodega has 18 hectares of vineyards located in Spain’s Rioja Alavesa region. The principals are Michael Rooney, Luis Güemes and Marta Ortiz-Arce Vizcarro. Dedicated to crafting small batches of wine from high-altitude vineyards, Bodega 202 reflects Rioja’s heritage as a wine inspired by and descended from Bordeaux.

LUIS GÜEMES
Technical Director and Winemaker
Luis is an agronomical engineer, and specialized with a Master´s degree in Viticulture and Enology in the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. With an interdisciplinary approach, he has extensive professional experience in the world of wine.

MARTA ORTIZ-ARCE VIZCARRO
Commercial Director, Marketing and Sustainability
Marta holds a Master´s degree in Sustainable Agriculture (The Netherlands) and a Master´s degree in Natural Resources Engineering (Spain). She has developed most of her professional career in environmental project management and education, digital marketing, corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

Saskia de Rothschild is joint manager of Château Lafite Rothschild and Chairwoman of Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite).

She joined the DBR Board in 2008. Initially, she trained herself in the technical aspects of viticulture through work experience at Château L’Evangile and Château Lafite and by following blending at the properties over 6 vintages.

A graduate of HEC and Columbia University, Saskia de Rothschild started her career as a journalist, initially as a freelance in the United States, then with the New York Times, in Paris and West Africa. She has written for the Washington Post, Libération, Le Monde, Les Echos, Vanity Fair, XXI and also wrote the novel Erable (published by Editions Stock) in 2015.

Sensitive to the problems of refugees and stateless people, whom she encountered as a reporter, she has worked within the association Action Emploi Réfugiés on the challenges posed by their reception and she created the exhibition “Talent in Exile, refugees in Paris” for the City of Paris in 2016 with photographer Benjamin Loyseau.

Having studied WSET to level 3, she also holds a Higher Technical Diploma in Agriculture.

Originating from Lyon, the French capital of food, Raphael Reybier was born at the crossroad of the vineyards of Burgundy, Beaujolais and Rhone Valley in the year of 1974. After he acquired his Bachelor Degree in Economics and gained several entrepreneurship experiences in North America, Asia and Europe, Raphael joined the family group founded by his father Michel Reybier.

He then obtained the Bachelor Degree in Oenology from the University of Burgundy and decided to dedicate his time and energy to the wine estates of the family: Château Cos d’Estournel, world renowned Second Growth in the 1855 official classification of the wines in Bordeaux and the ancient Imperial and Royal Estate of Hetszolo in Tokaj.

Shannon & Artie met in 2012 over a Staglin wine lunch at the River Oyster Bar in Miami. They realized rather quickly they were meant to be together and Artie moved to Napa the following summer. Shannon began in the family wine business as a harvest intern in 2001 and is currently the President of the winery. Artie’s interest in wine began while working at Nobu in Manhattan and progressed to running wine programs at some of Miami’s top restaurants including Casa Casuarina. After working with the Harlan organization at Mayacamas, Artie now produces his own wines under the L’Artishasic label. Artie and Shannon were married in 2015 and soon blessed with their daughter Sicily and then their son Arthur III. Together, with a shared passion for wine and entertaining, they carry forward Staglin Family Vineyard into the next generation.

Chris combined his dream to own a business with his passion for wine when he partnered with childhood friends Max Thieriot and Myles Lawrence-Briggs. Rather than pursuing a career in consulting, he worked vintage post graduating from Claremont with his Master’s degree in Finance. Inspired by his work with Jess Jackson of Jackson Family Wines and his time at Williams Selyem, Chris decided to take the plunge and founded Senses. Since the beginning Chris has been intimately involved with all aspects of the business.

Founded just in 2011 by Sonoma County natives, Senses is quickly becoming one of the most exciting projects to come out of the Sonoma Coast. With grapes from renowned vineyards crafted by legendary winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, these wines are complex and beautifully balanced.

Alfred Terreron was born on 23rd of June 1947 in Bordeaux.

After his military service, Alfred attended the Professeur Emile Peynaud’s oenology course in the Talence University.

He started his professional carrier as a merchant for a Bordeaux negociant and then, went onto work for a Wine and Spirits distributor in Paris.

Following in the same direction, he left France to continue in the United States for the next 5 years at one of the biggest Wine and Spirits Importers.

In 1977, his father, Guy Tesseron requested that Alfred return to France to join the Bordeaux’s family business.

In 1982, he joined his father in the Cognac family business, Tesseron Cognac to which Alfred is the president since 1987.

Today, he is also the President of Château Pontet-Canet, Grand Cru Classé in 1855, which he co-owns with the heirs of his brother Gérard.

Alfred is also co-owner of Tesseron Cognac, and the administer.

He is a member of the Académie du Vin de Bordeaux.

In January 2005, Alfred was knighted by the Order of the Agricultural Merit.

He enjoys sailing, skiing, golf, fishing, and hunting.

He is the father of Justine and Noé and he married Isabelle Trillot in 2003.

Since 2016, Alfred has been the co-owner with his nieces of a Californian property: Tesseron Estate, whose vineyard “Pym-Rae – Napa Valley” was planted by Robin Williams in 1990.