The People · Page 42
The artisans of taste.
Winemaker
Kimberlee Nicholls
St. Helena, California, United States
Kimberlee Nicholls makes the wines at Markham Vineyards in St. Helena, where her work is closely tied to the estate’s Merlot and red blends. At the winery’s scale, consistency…
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Winemaker
Kirby Anderson
Santa Ynez, California, United States
## The Climb Winemaking here is built in pieces: separate sites, separate lots, separate decisions that are assembled only after the fruit has been read on its own terms. That is…
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Winemaker
Kirsty Harmon
Charlottesville, Virginia, United States
## Coming Up Microbiology at the University of Virginia gave Kirsty Harmon a working view of fermentation before she ever made wine for a living. That lab background, followed by…
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Winemaker
Kris Curran
Santa Ynez, California, United States
“I have come to appreciate the unique personality of each varietal with which I work. I combine this understanding with my scientific knowledge in pursuit of crafting the best…
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Winemaker
Lance Winters
Alameda, California, United States
## The Climb A distiller’s method can start in scent, not in steel. At St. George Spirits in Alameda, California, Lance Winters has treated spirits as a way to render an idea into…
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Winemaker
Lauren Kopit
Calistoga, California, United States
She grew up in Southern California, where bright light and marked seasonal shifts can make observation feel like a habit early on. In wine, that kind of attention matters. For…
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Winemaker
Laurent Chiquet
Dizy, France
## Coming Up At Champagne Jacquesson, cellar work starts with grape provenance. Laurent Chiquet has said the quality of the wines is directly linked to where the grapes come from,…
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Winemaker
Laurent Fresnet
Santa Ynez, California, United States
## The Path Training at a renowned research centre in Avize and at the University of Reims gave Laurent Fresnet the technical base for a career built on precision. He then served…
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Winemaker
Lorna Kreutz
Santa Ynez, California, United States
## The Path Cellar work is the frame of the career here: in 2011, Lorna Kreutz moved from Assistant Winemaker to Director of Winemaking by staying close to the work and learning…
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Winemaker
Luca Paschina
Barboursville, Virginia, United States
A third-generation winemaker from Piedmont, Italy, Luca Paschina brought a European framework of craft and a practical read on what Virginia could be. His own line — “Virginia was…
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Winemaker
Luca Roagna
Barbaresco, Italy
## The Climb At Roagna in Barbaresco, Luca Roagna has held the winemaker role since 2001, working inside a family house where lineage, patience, and site are treated as part of…
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Winemaker
Ludivine Griveau
Beaune, France
Since 2015, Ludivine Griveau has served as winemaker and estate manager at Domaine des Hospices de Beaune, France, where the work is the cadence of Burgundy and the obligations of…
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Winemaker
Luis Sottomayor
Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Head of Winemaking at Sandeman in Vila Nova de Gaia is the post that frames Luis Sottomayor’s work, and it sits squarely in the discipline of Port. The core of that discipline is…
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Winemaker
Luke Jolliffe
Margaret River, Australia
## The Climb Luke Jolliffe’s work sits on the practical end of winemaking: vineyard knowledge, patience, and the discipline to keep polishing a style over time. As Senior…
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Chef
Makoto Ishii
Sapporo, Japan
## The Climb Early work at Enoteca in Japan gave Makoto Ishii a foundation in precision kitchen practice: controlled execution, careful balance, and the kind of attention that…
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Winemaker
Malcolm Waring
Wick, United Kingdom
Malcolm Waring’s work sits at the point where distillation practice and site character meet at Pulteney Distillery in Wick, United Kingdom. At Old Pulteney, the maritime note of…
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Winemaker
Mari Wells Coyle
Sonoma, California, United States
Mari Wells Coyle is winemaker at Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery. She works with Cabernet and Bordeaux wines, bringing a technical focus centered on bringing the best fruit to the…
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Winemaker
Maria Larrea
Haro, Spain
## Coming Up Imperial is the reference point in Maria Larrea’s work: a wine that concentrates the precision, patience, and measured authority of the CVNE cellar. The technical…
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Winemaker
Maria Testa Martinson
Calpella, California, United States
Maria Testa Martinson is the winemaker, owner, and manager of Testa Vineyards in Calpella, where stewardship is part of the job description. On family ground, the work moves…
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Winemaker
Mariano Di Paola
Tupungato, Argentina
His profile is built around sparkling wines and a collaborative cellar culture, with Mariano Di Paola’s work defined by technical rigor, steady leadership, and an insistence that…
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Winemaker
Mark Warren
Margaret River, Australia
## The Path Service was the first training ground for Mark Warren. As a part-time waiter in a winery restaurant in the Swan Valley, he learned wine in the context of timing, table…
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Winemaker
Masataka Taketsuru
Yoichi, Japan
Masataka Taketsuru was the Japanese founder of Nikka Whisky, and his work marks the shift of whisky in Japan from an imported idea to an established industry. His stated aim was…
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Winemaker
Matt Hoffman
Seattle, Washington, United States
## Coming Up Technical formation matters in distilling, and Matt Hoffman’s came through the Institute of Brewing and Distilling and Heriot-Watt University. That background gave…
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Master Sommelier
Matt Stamp
Napa, California, United States
Matt Stamp works in wine as a matter of structure: service, repetition, calibration. As co-proprietor of Compline in Napa, California, and Education Director for the Guild of…
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Winemaker
Matt Trevisan
Paso Robles, California, United States
Matt Trevisan works in Paso Robles as the winemaker and owner of Linne Calodo, building the winery around Rhône-influenced and Zinfandel artisan blends. His stated approach pairs…
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Winemaker
Matthias Pippig
Santa Barbara, California, United States
His work centers on Electric Rhône and Bordeaux style blends, built around a direct view of cellar authorship: “It is the winemaker’s job to create beauty through intervention.”…
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Master distiller / blender
Max L. Shapira
Bardstown, Kentucky, United States
Max L. Shapira’s profile turns on one fact: president of Heaven Hill. That role does the work here. It places him inside a spirits business where leadership is measured less by…
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Winemaker
Max Schönleber
Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
# Max Schönleber At Weingut Fritz Allendorf in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, cellar work sits inside the Rheingau’s long memory: terrace vineyards, river light, and a family line that…
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Winemaker
Michael Costley
St. Helena, California, United States
Since 2024, Michael Costley has held the combined post of Winemaker and Vineyard Manager at Signorello Estate in Napa, CA, a role that keeps cellar work and vineyard work in one…
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Chef
Michael Santoro
Los Angeles, California, United States
Michael Santoro took over as executive chef of The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States, in 2018, bringing with him a career…
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Winemaker
Michel Drappier
Urville, France
Pinot Noir-led Champagne from Urville is the working ground of Champagne Drappier, where Michel Drappier serves as president. The house’s line runs through François Drappier, who…
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Winemaker
Mike Januik
Woodinville, Washington, United States
Mike Januik has been winemaker and owner of Januik Winery in Woodinville since 1999. The work is built on a simple priority: the wines first, the ego second. “I want my wines to…
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Winemaker
Mike Peterkin
Margaret River, Australia
His line of work runs through Cullen and Di Cullen, and into the Margaret River house he founded in 1979. The shape of that career is accumulation: technical training, regional…
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Chef
Mirko Rizzo
Rome, Italy
## Coming Up At Pommidoro in Centocelle, Rome, Mirko Rizzo learned pizzaiolo work through repetition, timing, and the slow correction of the hand by the dough itself. That early…
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Winemaker
Morgan Twain-Peterson
Sonoma, California, United States
Morgan Twain-Peterson has been owner/winemaker of Bedrock Wine Co. in Sonoma, United States, since 2007, and carries the permanent credential of Master of Wine. The work sits on a…
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Winemaker
Nate Weis
Oakville, California, United States
His path through wine has been less a straight line than a layered education in California Cabernet and the people who bring it to life. ## Coming Up UC Davis and Sonoma State…
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Winemaker
Nathalie Perrodo
Margaux, France
## Coming Up Since 2006, Nathalie Perrodo has held two roles that sit close to the core of estate stewardship: owner of Family wine estates and owner of Château Marquis d’Alesme.…
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Winemaker
Nicole Austin
Tullahoma, Tennessee, United States
Nicole Austin is Director of George Dickel and Luxury North American Whiskey — George Dickel (Tennessee). Trained in Chemical Engineering at Manhattan College, she built a whiskey…
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Winemaker
Nicole Lamarche
Chablis, France
## At a Glance In 2019, sole responsibility for Domaine Lamarche passed to Nicole Lamarche, placing the estate’s Burgundy wines under a cellar practice built around patience and…
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Winemaker
Nigel Kinsman
St. Helena, California, United States
## Coming Up Classically proportioned, site-driven Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon sits at the center of the work. At Araujo Estate Wines in Napa Valley, Nigel Kinsman began as…
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Winemaker
Paolo Vagaggini
Sant’Angelo in Colle, Italy
In Monte San Vito, Italy, the work is centered on a single material: Sangiovese. In Paolo Vagaggini’s hands, that means reading grape selection, vintage character, cellar…
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Winemaker
Pär Caldenby
Hunnebostrand, Sweden
The work is tied to a single house and a clear point of origin: Smögen, founded there in 2009 by Caldenby. That date marks a project built around character rather than scale, with…
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Winemaker
Patrick Léon
Courthézon, France
In Fronsac, France, at Château Les Trois Croix, Patrick Leon worked from a vineyard-first logic: meticulous cultivation, manual leaf removal, green harvesting, and hand-harvesting…
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Winemaker
Paul Bridgeman
Yarra Valley, Australia
Paul Bridgeman has been Head Winemaker at Levantine Hill in the Yarra Valley since 2013, and the work reads as patient, technical cellar craft. In a region that asks for…
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Winemaker
Paul Chevalier
Courthézon, France
His formation sits inside a familiar fine-wine logic: region first, then method, then the discipline of representing a bottle beyond the cellar. For Paul Chevalier, that means…
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Owner
Peter Kight
Barossa Valley, Australia
Peter Kight’s wine work is defined by ownership, not by spectacle. The 2013 acquisition of 100% ownership tightened that position into full control, making Torbreck the defining…
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Winemaker
Peter Warr
Clare Valley, Australia
Wine sat at the table early, with immigrant parents who made it part of meal time at home. That kind of household context matters in the trade: it teaches wine as something lived…
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Philippe Cambie
Saint Drezery, France
His view of the job is direct, but it is also quietly generous: “Oenologues today are there to accompany the winemaker, to walk alongside them.” In that frame, Philippe Cambie’s…
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Winemaker
Philippe Dambrine
Haut-Médoc, France
Philippe Dambrine was director of Château Cantemerle (Haut-Médoc, France), where the estate had fallen on hard times and both the château and the cellars stood in ruins. The work…
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Winemaker
Philippe Engel
Vosne-Romanée, France
Burgundian directorship is often read through continuity: domaine, village, parcels, vintages, and the cellar decisions that hold them in sequence. At Domaine René Engel in…
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Winemaker
Philippe Melka
St. Helena, California, United States
Soil study is a practical starting point for Cabernet work when the aim is to read site before style. Philippe Melka’s formation in Bordeaux, France, included a geology degree…
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Winemaker
Philippe Pacalet
Nuits-Saint-Georges, France
## The Path The discipline of Burgundy winemaking is visible early in Philippe Pacalet’s work: from 1991 to 1999, he was winemaker at Domaine Prieuré-Roch in Nuits St. Georges, a…
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Winemaker
Pierre Birebent
St. Helena, California, United States
Pierre Birebent’s work at Signorello Estate in St. Helena, California, United States was built around a single estate role: he served as winemaker and vineyard manager from…
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Winemaker
Rafael Urrejola
Talagante, Chile
## Coming Up Training at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile set the baseline for Rafael Urrejola’s approach: precise, patient, and built around detail rather than display.…
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Winemaker
Randy Ullom
Fulton, California, United States
## The Path At DeLoach Vineyards, the work behind the title was as much operational as it was sensory. Randy Ullom served as winemaker and vice president from 1991 to 1993, a role…
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Winemaker
Rebekah Richardson
Barossa Valley, Australia
## Coming Up Cool-climate winemaking is the technical base of Rebekah Richardson’s career, built first in sparkling and white wine at Jacob’s Creek. That work sits in a lane where…
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Winemaker
Richard Stabile
Baiting Hollow, New York, United States
## The Climb Training at New York Institute of Technology gave Richard Stabile the technical base, but the working years that followed were in business and brand strategy. The…
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Winemaker
Robert Diletti
Porongurup, Australia
## The Path At Castle Rock Estate in Porongurup, Australia, the work has been shaped by family continuity as much as by vineyard practice. Robert Diletti first learned the site by…
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Winemaker
Robin Bignal
Bruichladdich, United Kingdom
## Coming Up At Kilchoman Distillery in Bruichladdich, the work has been grounded in the day-to-day discipline of stillhouse production. Robin Bignal entered that system as a…
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Winemaker
Romano Levi
Neive, Italy
Romano Levi spent more than six decades at Distilleria Romano Levi in Neive, Italy, shaping grappa with a style that was austere, direct, and hard to mistake. From 1945 to 2008,…
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Winemaker
Russell P From
Paso Robles, California, United States
Food set the first reference point before the cellar: in Russell P From’s account, home cooking established an early standard for taste, with wine present but not treated as…
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Winemaker
Ryan Schmaltz
Healdsburg, California, United States
## The Climb Wine can reward a background in science, and Ryan Schmaltz’s training makes that plain. Miami University and the University of Virginia gave him the academic base,…
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Winemaker
Sam Palmer
Porongurup, Australia
Sam Palmer has been winemaker at Castle Rock Estate in Porongurup since 2020. ## Where They Are Now Today, Sam Palmer moves through his professional life with the easy composure…
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Winemaker
Sandra de Pury
Yarra Valley, Australia
She returned to the family estate after chef work, hotel management studies, an MBA, and world travel as a management consultant, bringing back a practical range of reference…
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Winemaker
Sarah Crowe
Yarra Valley, Australia
## The Climb Working the rows is where winegrowing starts, and for Sarah Crowe it started at Brokenwood in Hunter Valley. As a vineyard worker, she learned the seasonal pace from…
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Winemaker
Sarah Holt Mullins
Santa Maria, California, United States
## The Climb Winemaking at Rancho Sisquoc Winery in Santa Maria is built here on proximity, repetition, and a long view of the property. Sarah Holt Mullins was born on the ranch,…
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Winemaker
Scott Leopold
Denver, Colorado, United States
Scott Leopold is CEO of Leopold Bros. In Denver, the work is framed by method and control rather than flourish, with his role rooted in the company he co-founded in 1999. The…
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Winemaker
Scott Shirley
Paso Robles, California, United States
Paso Robles is the working ground for Scott Shirley: a place where row walking at harvest, Cabernet Sauvignon evaluation, and Bordeaux-style blending all sit inside the same daily…
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Winemaker
Sebastián Ruiz
Isla de Maipo, Chile
## Coming Up At Universidad de Chile, Sebastián Ruiz built the foundation for a practice shaped by precision, patience, and attention to site. That training led into a visible…
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Winemaker
Sébastien Jaume
Orange, France
## Today The measure of a white Châteauneuf sits in consistency, not noise. With La Fontaine, Sébastien Jaume has a wine that is consistently rated one of the best white…
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Winemaker
Séverine Frerson
Épernay, France
Formed in enology at the University of Reims in 2001, Séverine Frerson entered Champagne through study before she entered it through responsibility. The route is a familiar one to…
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Winemaker
Sherman Thacher
Paso Robles, California, United States
He founded the operation, became the first to plant vineyards on the property, and established the winery now known by his name. Sherman Thacher’s work is rooted in a grower’s…
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Winemaker
Stephan Asseo
Chavot-Courcourt, France
## The Path Training at L'Ecole Oenologique de Macon in Burgundy, France gave Stephan Asseo a formal base in one of wine’s most exacting regions. Since 1998, that approach has…
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Winemaker
Stéphane Ogier
Ampuis, France
His work is centered on Côte-Rôtie wines, made from a seven-generation family base in the village and shaped by a style that keeps close to tradition while reading as distinctly…
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Winemaker
Stephen Teeling
Dublin, Ireland
## The Path Irish whiskey production is the foundation here: work at Cooley Distillery in Cooley, County Louth (until 2011) gave Stephen Teeling a practical education in…
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Steve Dragonette
Los Olivos, California, United States
## Career - **co-founder** — Dragonette Cellars, Santa Barbara County, California (2005–present) - **owner** — Dragonette Cellars, Santa Barbara County, California (2005–present)…
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Winemaker
Steve Webber
Yarra Valley, Australia
## The Climb Formal oenology at Roseworthy College gave Steve Webber a base in the structure of wine before the cellar made its own demands. That grounding carried into his first…
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Winemaker
Stuart Pym
Margaret River, Australia
Stuart Pym has built his reputation in Margaret River by working the long way: through cellar hands-on experience, through regional repetition, and through the discipline of…
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Winemaker
Susana Balbo
Mendoza, Argentina
## The Route Argentine white-wine work and Torrontés handling sit at the center of Susana Balbo’s practice, built on formal training at Don Bosco University in 1981 and cellar…
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Winemaker
Tami Lotz
Napa, California, United States
At Mumm Napa in the United States, méthode traditionnelle sparkling winemaking is the working frame for Tami Lotz’s craft: vintage, blend, and vineyard are handled as practical…
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Winemaker
Ted Henry
Napa, California, United States
## Coming Up At University of California, Davis, Ted Henry built the technical base that would carry into cellar and vineyard roles. From 1999 at Trinchero Family Estates, that…
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Winemaker, Jean-Marc & Thomas Bouley
Thomas Bouley
Volnay, France
Domaine work in Volnay is a matter of proximity: parcels, cellar decisions, and the accumulated discipline of returning to the same source over time. In the family orbit of…
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Winemaker
Thomas Hardy
McLaren Vale, Australia
At Bankside on the River Torrens in Adelaide, winery founding in 1853 set South Australian wine work into a fixed place: watercourse, city, date, and cellar practice tied to…
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Winemaker
Tobin James
Paso Robles, California, United States
Tobin James is the founder and winemaker of Tobin James Cellars in Paso Robles, United States. The work is defined by that overlap: the cellar carries Tobin James’s name, and the…
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Winemaker
Todd Graff
Calistoga, California, United States
In Calistoga, at Frank Family Vineyards, the work tied to Todd Graff has long sat with the disciplines that shape Napa Valley Cabernet and Chardonnay, while still and sparkling…
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Winemaker
Todd Leopold
Denver, Colorado, United States
## Coming Up Training at Siebel Institute of Technology and Doemens School gave Todd Leopold the technical base for a practice built on precision, not speed. Those institutions…
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Winemaker
Tom Carson
Yarra Valley, Australia
Formed in the disciplined, cool-climate schools of Australian wine, Tom Carson built his reputation by moving through cellars where Pinot Noir and place had to be read with…
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Winemaker
Tom Lane
Paso Robles, California, United States
## The Climb Study and repetition formed the base of Tom Lane’s cellar work, with Chico State University, Kansas State University, and Ohio State University giving him the…
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Winemaker
Tor Kenward
Oakville, California, United States
Tor Kenward’s authority at Beringer came through the Private Reserve program, where the work was less about force than calibration: defining a house style with control, not…
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Winemaker
Trey Busch
Walla Walla, Washington, United States
## Coming Up Training at University of Georgia preceded a working route through service, retail buying, and wine business before the cellar became the fixed point. Trey Busch…
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Winemaker
Trey Fletcher
Lompoc, California, United States
Trey Fletcher’s work at Sanford Winery in Lompoc has, since 2019, been defined by two varieties that punish shortcuts and reward repetition: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Senior…
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Winemaker
Ulrich Mell
Deidesheim, Germany
Ulrich Mell’s work is tied to Weingut Geheimer Rat Dr. von Bassermann-Jordan in Deidesheim, where technical direction and cellar management defined a long stretch of production.…
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Varela Zarranz family
Canelones, Uruguay
Varela Zarranz is a family name rooted in Joaquín Suárez, in Canelones, Uruguay, where its story in the wine sector began in 1933. That date does more than mark a starting point:…
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Winemaker
Vincent Boyer
Meursault, France
Since 2002, Vincent Boyer has been winemaker and owner of Domaine Yves Boyer-Martenot in Meursault, France. In Burgundy, that means working inside a village where reputation is…
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Winemaker
Wayne Falkenberg
Hunter Valley, Australia
Wayne Falkenberg has spoken plainly about Australian white varieties, especially Semillon and Chardonnay, and about the harder task of getting those wines to consumers without…
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Winemaker
Yann Munier
Santa Ynez, California, United States
Cellar master at G.H. Mumm in Reims, France, Yann Munier stepped into the role in 2024 carrying with him not only technical responsibility, but a lineage that feels deeply…
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Winemaker
Yannick Champ
Nuits-Saint-Georges, France
## Coming Up At Domaine Prieure Roch, the Manager’s job is to hold judgment, patience, and steadiness in the same hand. Yannick Champ works in a house where every call is read…
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Chef
Zeyu Tian
Shenzhen, China
## Coming Up At AVANT, Zeyu Tian’s work is framed by a title that does not need a long chain of prior postings to make its point. Chef Co-Owner is a compact description, but it…
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World's 50 Best Bars
Alastair Burgess
London, United Kingdom
## Coming Up Service is the first training ground in Alastair Burgess’s record: a fish and chip shop, then bars, then more bars, each room teaching pace, repetition, and how to…
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Chef
Andrea Coccia
Naples, Italy
## Coming Up Andrea Coccia’s work is best read through the craft itself: pizza made with precision, repetition, and a narrow focus that leaves little room for drift. As a…
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