The People · Page 51
The artisans of taste.
Winemaker
Belinda Thomson
Condah, Australia
## Career Belinda Thomson has been Chief Winemaker and Viticulturist at Crawford River Wines in South West Victoria since 2014, a role that sits at the meeting point of precision,…
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Winemaker
Ben Glaetzer
McLaren Vale, Australia
## The Climb Technical training at Adelaide University and the 2001–2013 stretch as business partner and winemaker at Mitolo Wines in McLaren Vale gave Ben Glaetzer a working base…
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Winemaker
Bertho van der Westhuizen
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Since 2015, Bertho van der Westhuizen has been winemaker at Alto Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Born and raised in Stellenbosch, he works from a close reading of site…
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Winemaker
Bevan Newton-Johnson
Hermanus, South Africa
Bevan Newton's remit is the commercial and operational side of Newton Johnson, the estate tied closely to the Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in South Africa. In that frame, Pinot…
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Winemaker
Brad Paton
Cape Town, South Africa
## The Path More than two decades at Buitenverwachting Wine Farm in Cape Town, South Africa have given Brad Paton a cellar practice built on judgment as much as technique. Since…
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Winemaker
Brian Croser
Piccadilly Valley, Australia
## Career Brian Croser’s formation reads less like a classroom record than a long apprenticeship to place, moving from Petaluma to Tapanappa through terroir-driven wines,…
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Winemaker
Carlos Cousiño Valdés
Santiago, Chile
Carlos Cousiño Valdés leads Viña Cousiño Macul in Santiago, carrying a Chilean wine name with a long institutional weight while keeping the house framed in present-day terms. The…
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Chef
Carlos Torres
Madrid, Spain
## Coming Up Carlos Torres is owner and chef of La Buena Vida in Madrid, and the work there is built on restraint rather than display. The kitchen favors clarity, familiarity, and…
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Winemaker
Cecilia Guzmán
Pirque, Chile
## The Climb Technical training at the University of Chile, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences gave Cecilia Guzm the grounding for a role that has since sat between cellar…
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Winemaker
Celestino Gaspari
Negrar, Italy
## The Climb In Veneto, long apprenticeship often matters more than a clean beginning. Celestino Gaspari’s route reflects that: manager at a large commercial livestock operation…
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Céline Meyer
Wintzenheim, France
Céline Meyer’s work at Domaine Josmeyer in Wintzenheim, Alsace, France is built on restraint, attentiveness, and control of pace. As co-owner and managing director, she frames the…
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Winemaker
Charl du Plessis
Paarl, South Africa
## Coming Up Training at Elsenburg Agriculture College gave Charl du Plessis a practical base: field discipline, patience, and a working closeness to agriculture. That foundation…
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Winemaker
Chelsea Barrett
Napa, California, United States
## The Training Calistoga is the first site of training here: the pace of vineyard and winery work, learned young, before titles ever entered the picture. Chelsea Barrett came up…
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Winemaker
Chloi Chatzivaritis
Goumenissa, Greece
Chloi Chatzivaritis is a winemaker at Chatzivaritis Estate in Goumenissa, Greece. The role sits inside one estate’s working identity: the vineyard, the cellar, and the decisions…
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Winemaker
Chris Albrecht
Hermanus, South Africa
## Coming Up At Bouchard Finlayson, the work is built around translating Hemel-en-Aarde into wines with clarity, tension and depth. In Chris Albrecht’s hands, Pinot Noir sits at…
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Winemaker
Chris Williams
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Cellar master at Meerlust Estate in Stellenbosch from 2004 to 2019 was the defining title of Chris Williams’s wine career. ## Coming Up Training at Elsenburg College set the…
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Winemaker
Christof Höpler
Breitenbrunn, Austria
Owner and winemaker at Weingut Höpler in Breitenbrunn, Austria, Christof Höpler has worked a line of succession that is plain in structure and exact in execution: economics at…
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Winemaker
Christopher Howell
St. Helena, California, United States
Christopher Howell has been winemaker and General Manager at Cain Vineyard & Winery in St. Helena since 1990. At an estate where site and bottle are tightly linked, that kind of…
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Winemaker
Christos Zafeirakis
Tirnavos, Greece
Christos Zafeirakis is the winemaker and founder of Domaine Zafeirakis in Tyrnavos, Thessaly, Greece, where the work is tied to Limniona, Malagousia and Chardonnay. ## The Path…
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Winemaker
Claude-Edouard Geoffray
Saint-Lager, France
Claude-Edouard Geoffray works at Château Thivin in Odenas, France, where the estate’s rhythm is set by the site as much as by cellar decisions. As French co-proprietor and…
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Winemaker
Cliff Royle
Margaret River, Australia
## The Path Cliff Royle’s career shows the kind of steady progression that makes sense in Margaret River: regionally rooted, methodical, and built through increasing control of…
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Winemaker
Clotilde Davenne
Préhy, France
Directrice of Domaine Clotilde Davenne in Préhy since 2005, Clotilde Davenne works in a role that sits between vineyard and cellar, where timing, repetition, and judgment shape…
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Winemaker
Damien Lapuyade
Newberg, Oregon, United States
Damien Lapuyade took on the Head Winemaker role at Beaux Frères Vineyard in Newberg, Oregon, in 2023. The work fits a style built on measured pacing rather than noise: in his own…
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Winemaker
Dan Goldfield
Sebastopol, California, United States
From Brandeis University and the University of California, Davis in 1986 to Winemaker Emeritus at Dutton-Goldfield Winery in Sebastopol in 2025, Dan Goldfield’s record is built…
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Winemaker
Dan Kosta
Sebastopol, California, United States
At AldenAlli Winery, founder and proprietor Dan Kosta works in the register Pinot Noir and Chardonnay demand: patience, attention, and a close read on texture. The line runs back…
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Chef
Daniele Mazzanti
Florence, Italy
From a family gastronomia on Via de' Neri in 1989 to the chef role at All'Antico Vinaio in Florence, Italy, Daniele Mazzanti’s path has stayed close to one street and one craft.…
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Winemaker
Danilo Drocco
Chiuro, Italy
Danilo Drocco has been winemaker at Nino Negri in Chiuro, where the work is built on repetition, site knowledge, and a steady hand. Born and raised in the Langhe in Piedmont, he…
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Winemaker
Dante Irurtia
Carmelo, Uruguay
Dante Irurtia’s work sits inside Familia Irurtia in Carmelo, where winemaking is carried as both practice and inheritance. The estate’s legacy is part of the job description:…
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Winemaker
Dave Ready
Philo, California, United States
Dave Ready has been chief winemaker at Edmeades Winery in Philo since 2017, and the work there is defined by place as much as by title. He has also served as winemaker at Edmeades…
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Winemaker
David Bicknell
Yarra Valley, Australia
## Coming Up At Oakridge Wines in the Yarra Valley, chief winemaking from 2002 to 2026 was defined by continuity, and David Bicknell gave that continuity its shape. Across more…
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Winemaker
David Hirsch
Cazadero, California, United States
David Hirsch is an American founder and owner of Hirsch Vineyards in Cazadero, United States. The estate is the work: land, vines, and the wines that came off them, with the…
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Winemaker
David Nieuwoudt
Clanwilliam, South Africa
Cape Winemakers Guild member David Nieuwoudt studied at Elsenburg Agricultural College, and that agricultural base remains visible in the way his work sits between vineyard and…
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Winemaker
David Ramey
Healdsburg, California, United States
Founder and winemaker at Ramey Wine Cellars in Healdsburg, California, United States, David Ramey has held that role since 1996. The work is built on a measured approach: exacting…
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Winemaker
David Ready Jr
Healdsburg, California, United States
## The Path At Murphy-Goode Winery in Healdsburg, California, the winemaker’s job is to hold the line from cellar decisions to label presentation and release timing. David Ready…
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Winemaker
Dewaldt Heyns
Tulbagh, South Africa
## Coming Up At Saronsberg Cellar in Tulbagh, South Africa, Dewaldt Heyns built his early cellar practice around the discipline of winegrowing and the slow reading of fruit, site,…
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Winemaker
Dimitris Hatzimichalis
Atalanti, Greece
## The Climb In Greek wine, continuity matters as much as scale. Dimitris Hatzimichalis founded Domaine Hatzimichalis in 1973 in the Atalanti Valley of Central Greece, and the…
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Winemaker
Dirk Coetzee
Stellenbosch, South Africa
His own account starts in Hoekville, in the Knysna Forest on South Africa’s Garden Coast: a place of trees, moisture, and a climate that rewards patience. That grounding runs…
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Winemaker
Duncan Savage
Cape Town, South Africa
## The Path At Cape Point Vineyards until 2016, Duncan Savage worked the sort of cellar role that tends to show in the glass later: measured, attentive, and built on repetition…
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Winemaker
Ed Carr
Pipers River, Australia
## Career Sparkling wine is the chosen specialty, and in Ed Carr’s hands the style is built for freshness and texture to arrive together. The point is not ornament after the fact;…
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Winemaker
Edouard Vocoret
Chablis, France
## The Climb At Domaine Eleni & Edouard Vocoret in Chablis, France, the winemaker’s job is shaped by a simple fact: the season can change the work before the cellar ever does.…
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Winemaker
Eleni Vocoret
Chablis, France
Eleni Vocoret is associated with Domaine Eleni & Edouard Vocoret in Chablis, a name that sits among the region’s most closely watched addresses through patient work, persistence,…
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Chef
Eliana Hernandez
Tucson, Arizona, United States
## Coming Up A kitchen path built one station at a time tends to produce a chef who understands pace, repetition, and the weight of a service. Eliana Hernandez moved through…
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Winemaker
Emilio Zierock
Mezzolombardo, Italy
## Coming Up Winemaking is the field that first defined Emilio Zierock’s practice, with the work centered on grapes, cellar decisions, and the year’s changing conditions. From…
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Winemaker
Emma Norbiato
Griffith, Australia
Emma Norbiato is Chief Winemaker at Calabria Family Wines in Griffith, Australia. Over more than 20 years in wine, her work has been anchored in the Riverina, with a consistent…
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Winemaker
Erhard Heumann
Villány, Hungary
## Coming Up Wine entered Erhard Heumann’s working life after a first career in finance. He began as a banker at a bank in Switzerland, where the habits of precision and…
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Chef
Eric Frechon
Paris, France
Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 1993, Eric Frechon stands in a class of chefs whose work is defined by control, French tradition, and an instinct for cooking that reads as measured…
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Chef
Ettore Bocchia
Bellagio, Italy
Ettore Bocchia works the lakeside hotel-restaurant circuit in Bellagio, with Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni as the fixed address in the record since 1993. The kitchen identity…
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Winemaker
Evangelia Palivou
Nemea, Greece
Her work is rooted in the cellar and in the vineyard landscape of Nemea, where craft is not an abstraction but part of the day’s actual labor. For Evangelia Palivou, winemaking is…
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Winemaker
Fabiana Bracco
Canelones, Uruguay
Fabiana Bracco is Director of Bracco Bosca Winery in Atlántida, Canelones, and the first vintner of her family at Bracco Bosca (Atlántida, Canelones). The work is rooted in a…
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Winemaker
Federico Benegas Lynch
Luján de Cuyo, Argentina
Federico Benegas Lynch has long been associated with Bodega Benegas in Luján de Cuyo, Argentina, where the work of a winemaker is the discipline of place. At Bodega Benegas, his…
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Winemaker
Federico Gambetta
Mendoza, Argentina
Federico Gambetta took the winemaker role at Altos Las Hormigas in Mendoza, Argentina, in 2020, with Malbec as his specialty. “My vision is not to be a slave to scores,” he says;…
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Winemaker
Felipe de Solminihac
Santiago, Chile
## The Climb Training at Institut d’Oenologie de Bordeaux places Felipe de Solminihac inside a rigorous winemaking tradition, one defined by method and technical discipline. Since…
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Winemaker
Fernando Espina
Maipo, Chile
## Coming Up Winemaking is the frame that holds Fernando Espina’s profile together. At Viña Chocalán, Fernando Espina is the winemaker, responsible for the estate’s style and…
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Winemaker
Franco D'Anna
Yarra Valley, Australia
## The Path Formal study gave Franco D'Anna the tools to work with wine as a discipline rather than a hunch. At Melbourne University and Charles Sturt, he built the technical…
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Winemaker
François de Nicolay
Savigny-lès-Beaune, France
## Career The trade began in Paris, where François de Nicolay worked as a wine distributor until 2001 while also running an own shop in Pigalle until 2001. That mix of…
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Winemaker
François Laura
Sorbets, France
François Laura directs Château de Laubade in Sorbets, France. The work is anchored in the family property in Bas Armagnac, where estate management and cellar work sit on the same…
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Winemaker
Frank Schönleber
Monzingen, Germany
## Coming Up Today, owner and kellermeister Frank Schönleber works at Weingut Emrich-Schönleber in Monzingen, Germany with the same register that defines the estate’s Riesling:…
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Winemaker
Fred Merwarth
Dundee, New York, United States
## Career Fred Merwarth has been at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in Dundee, United States, since 2007 as Head Winemaker, co-owner, and Vineyard Manager. That kind of continuity is…
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Winemaker
Frédéric Engerer
Vosne-Romanée, France
He has said, "I came here as a wine lover, which is a different background as opposed to a technician." In that single sentence, Frédéric Engerer defines the terms of the work: a…
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Chef
Gaetano Torrente
Cetara, Italy
Gaetano Torrente’s work is built around place, repetition, and the discipline of daily service in Cetara. The line that frames it best is his own: “The kitchen for me is home,…
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Winemaker
Gary Eberle
Paso Robles, California, United States
Gary Eberle’s work has been built on close attention to what the land, the vine, and the season will actually give. In the trade, that means reading terroir without forcing it,…
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Winemaker
Gary Jordan
Stellenbosch, South Africa
## Coming Up Training at University of California, Davis gave Gary Jordan a formal footing in wine before he spent time in field geology at Geological Survey. He moved into wine…
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Winemaker
Georg Rumpf
Münster-Sarmsheim, Germany
Cellar work is where Georg Rumpf’s craft is measured twice: first in the vineyard, then again in the cellar. At Weingut Kruger-Rumpf in Münster-Sarmsheim, Germany, the…
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Winemaker
George Diamantakos
Naoussa, Greece
A third-generation winemaker, George Diamantakos works within a family frame defined by place, continuity, Xinomavro, and Preknadi. “The wine is our history. It’s our DNA.” In…
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Winemaker
George Skouras
Argos, Greece
George Skouras is the owner and winemaker of Domaine Skouras in Peloponnese, Greece, and his name is closely associated with classic renditions of Moscofilero and Aghiorgitiko. In…
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Winemaker
Géraldine Godot
Nuits-Saint-Georges, France
## Coming Up Training at Institut Jules Guyot in Dijon gave Géraldine Godot the technical base for the work that followed at Bodega Las Niñas and later as manager and oenologist…
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Winemaker
Germán Lyon
Paine, Chile
## The Path At Viña Pérez Cruz in Paine, the technical direction and head winemaking have been carried by Germán Lyon from the outset, shaping the project as it took form rather…
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Winemaker
Giulio Bava
Asti, Italy
## The Path The regional work around Alta Langa took shape through offices that sat at the center of Piemonte’s sparkling-wine conversation. Giulio Bava’s terms as president at…
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Winemaker
Glenn Goodall
Margaret River, Australia
In Margaret River, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are the raw materials that define Glenn Goodall’s work at Xanadu Wines. Across decades in the region, the vineyard has stayed…
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Chef
Gonzalo Guzman
San Francisco, California, United States
Gonzalo Guzman is chef and owner of Nopalito in San Francisco, United States, and chef and partner at the same restaurant. Those paired roles put Gonzalo Guzman in the working…
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Winemaker
Gordon Newton-Johnson
Hermanus, South Africa
The Essentials. At Newton Johnson Vineyards in Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, the work is shaped by cool Atlantic influence and the valley’s own contours, both of which register in…
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Winemaker
Graziano Prà
Monteforte d'Alpone, Italy
## Coming Up Training at the Institute of Oenology in Conegliano gave Graziano Prà a technical base, but the work that follows is built on restraint: read the vineyard, keep…
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Winemaker
Guillaume Large
Carlton, Oregon, United States
## The Path Training at Université de Bourgogne gave Guillaume Large a classical grounding from the start, with Burgundy as the reference point rather than the afterthought. That…
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Winemaker
Guillaume Michel
Chablis, France
## The Climb The route into Domaine Louis Michel & Fils was not a straight line through the vines. Guillaume Michel came up through Brevet professionnel, then worked as a…
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Winemaker
Hannes Nel
Somerset West, South Africa
Hannes Nel’s work at Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West is built on a line of continuity: microbiology, quality control, cellar management, and chief winemaking all sit on…
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Winemaker
Hans Vinding-Diers
Fernandez Oro, Argentina
Hans Vinding-Diers is a winemaker at Bodega Del Río Elorza. The first cellar post in this record came in 1987, when he started as a cellar hand at Tyrrell's Vineyards in New South…
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Winemaker
Haridimos Hatzidakis
Pyrgos Kallistis, Greece
Haridimos Hatzidakis was born in Crete, and the shape of his work points to a winemaker for whom place was never decorative. Before co-founding Hatzidakis Winery in Pyrgos…
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Winemaker
Harry Peterson-Nedry
Newberg, Oregon, United States
That land became Ridgecrest Vineyards, the first vineyard in what would become the Ribbon Ridge AVA. ## The Path Founder is the right label for the start of Ridgecrest Vineyards /…
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Winemaker
Heidi Bridenhagen
Healdsburg, California, United States
## Coming Up Winemaking at Heidi Bridenhagen’s level is built in the lab, the cellar, and the repetition between the two. After training at University of Colorado at Boulder, she…
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Chef
Henrik Ando Levinsen
Copenhagen, Denmark
His path into hospitality begins with service training at Søllerød Kro, and that early discipline still reads like the quiet grammar behind everything that follows: the measured…
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Winemaker
Hunter Smith
Great Southern, Australia
Hunter Smith is the owner and winemaker of Frankland Estate in Great Southern, Australia, where vineyard work and cellar work are treated as one continuous job rather than…
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Isabelle Meyer
Wintzenheim, France
## Career Since 2009, winemaking has been the fixed point in Isabelle Meyer’s work at Domaine Josmeyer in Wintzenheim, France. The appointment has held without interruption, and…
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Chef
Jack Arnold
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
## Coming Up Vegetable cookery is the throughline in Jack Arnold’s work, and the discipline behind it starts in Nashville at Vanderbilt University. He studied there, then later…
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Chef
Jake Ettison
Orlando, Florida, United States
Cuban cooking gives this kitchen its working frame: edited, direct, and built on a short run of plates rather than a broad survey. At Otto's High Dive, Jake Ettison works within a…
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Winemaker
Jamie Benziger
Glen Ellen, California, United States
Jamie Benziger is the winemaker of Imagery Estate Winery in Glen Ellen, United States, where familiar grapes are handled with restraint, intention, and a measured finish. The work…
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Winemaker
Jean Foillard
Villié-Morgon, France
## The Path One domaine, one village, one long responsibility: Jean Foillard has held the winemaker’s role at Domaine Jean Foillard in Villié-Morgon since 1980. The work is…
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Winemaker
Jeff Grier
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Cellarmaking at Villiera Wines in Stellenbosch is the through-line in Jeff Grier’s career: long tenure, one estate, and a body of work built on consistency rather than volume. In…
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Winemaker
Jeff Stewart
Forestville, California, United States
## Coming Up Training at University of California, Davis gave Jeff Stewart a technical base that shows up in the way his work moves across disciplines without losing control of…
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Winemaker
Jeff White
Huntly, Virginia, United States
Jeff White is the owner and winemaker at Glen Manor Vineyards in Front Royal, Virginia, where vineyard work and cellar work are joined under one decision-making hand. ## The Climb…
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Winemaker
Jeffrey Jindra
Philo, California, United States
## The Climb Sparkling wine asks for patience, technical control, and a steady hand, and Jeffrey Jindra’s training at Sonoma State University gave him the foundation for that kind…
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Winemaker
Jérôme Chezeaux
Premeaux-Prissey, France
## Career Since 1993, the winemaking work at Domaine Jérôme Chezeaux in Premeaux-Prissey, France, has sat with Jérôme Chezeaux, placing him inside a family-rooted estate where…
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Winemaker
Jim Chatto
Glaziers Bay, Australia
Before being named Australian Winemaker of the Year in 2019, Jim Chatto had already built a career on three things: formal study, a sharp sensory memory, and a clear sense of what…
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Winemaker
João Nicolau de Almeida
Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
João Nicolau de Almeida is the winemaker at João Nicolau de Almeida & Filhos and was named Personalidade do Norte 2024 in 2024. The award reads as the result of a long, methodical…
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Winemaker
Joaquín Rivero
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
## Coming Up Joaquín Rivero moved from corporate real estate into wine by founding Bodegas Tradición in Jerez de la Frontera in 1998. The house is built around very old sherries…
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Winemaker
Johannes Scheid
Sonoma, California, United States
## The Climb Johannes Scheid’s route into wine was built in stages: study at Geisenheim University, then time on the floor at Schug Winery in Carneros Estate, California, where he…
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Winemaker
Johnnie Calitz
Paarl, South Africa
## The Path Cellarmaster work at Glen Carlou in Paarl has defined Johnnie Calitz’s public profile since 2016, with the estate’s cellar rhythm setting the pace for his name in the…
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Winemaker
Jon Leahy
Stonewall, Texas, United States
## The Path Wine work often rewards people who already understand service, timing, and how small choices shape the final experience. Jon Leahy came into Becker Vineyards in…
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Winemaker
Josef Umathum
Frauenkirchen, Austria
## Coming Up In 1985, the head of the winery's wine-growing division at Weingut Umathum took on work that demanded continuity as much as precision. Josef Umathum entered that role…
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Winemaker
Juan José Mesa
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Jerez de la Frontera gives Juan José Mesa his working ground: a city where fermentation, aging, and blending are judged not by label language, but by vessel, cellar, aroma,…
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Winemaker
Juan Pablo Murgia
Mendoza, Argentina
## Coming Up At Grupo Avinea, Juan Pablo Murgia’s early brief was production leadership: he served as Head Winemaker until 2025, then moved into the head of winemaking role at…
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