The People · Page 60
The artisans of taste.
Winemaker
Miro Tcholakov
Geyserville, California, United States
## The Path Winemaking often shows its shape in the sequence of jobs a cellar hand works through, and Miro Tcholakov’s record is a clean example: intern, Cellar Master, Assistant…
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Monje family
El Sauzal, Spain
Monje family directs Bodegas Monje in El Sauzal, Tenerife, a role that keeps leadership tied to place rather than separated from it. In a working bodega, that matters: the family…
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Monty Bergara
San Sebastián, Spain
In trade terms, that kind of concentration is its own signal. It points to a practice built around consistency, control, and the discipline required to make small plates carry…
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Morgan Eckroth
Rogers, Arkansas, United States
Morgan Eckroth joined Onyx Coffee Lab in May 2022 as a content marketing specialist and barista. They won the 2022 United States Barista Championship and finished second at the…
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Winemaker
Morgan Maureze
Napa, California, United States
Napa Valley is the working ground in Morgan Maureze’s wine, the place where upbringing, training, and present practice meet at Seven Apart Winery (Napa, United States). Born in…
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Winemaker
Moritz Kallmeyer
Pretoria, South Africa
## The Climb Drayman's Brewery & Distillery has been under Moritz Kallmeyer’s ownership since 1997, and the long arc of that tenure is the point: craft here is built through…
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Winemaker
Murray Barlow
Stellenbosch, South Africa
Murray Barlow’s place at Rustenberg Wines in Stellenbosch, South Africa, is the result of study meeting responsibility. The work reads less as a break with the past than as an…
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Winemaker
Nadia Sadie
Swartland, South Africa
## The Climb Winemaking here is defined by restraint, texture, and balance, and Nadia Sadie’s place in it is built on steady accumulation rather than noise. As winemaker of David…
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Winemaker
Nate Ready
Hood River, Oregon, United States
He came up in Napa, where wine is part of the daily climate, and that environment reads through in Nate Ready’s work: close attention, controlled pace, and a feel for the small…
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Winemaker
Nate Walsh
Purcellville, Virginia, United States
## The Climb Wine work gave Nate Walsh an entry point through a summer job at Horton Winery in Charlottesville, Virginia. That early cellar-and-farm exposure became the basis for…
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Winemaker
Nathan Vrooman
Amherst, Virginia, United States
Nathan Vrooman is the winemaker at Ankida Ridge Vineyards in Amherst, United States, where Pinot Noir is the focus. He joined the family winemaking business there in 2009,…
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Chef
Nick Dugan
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
The throughline is precision. In stations, in chef de cuisine responsibility, in opening leadership, Dugan’s cooking has been shaped by control and repeatability, but the plates…
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Winemaker
Niel Bruwer
Franschhoek, South Africa
Niel Bruwer works as winemaker at Chamonix Wine Farm in Franschhoek, South Africa. The estate sits above the Franschhoek valley, and that altitude and valley light are part of the…
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Winemaker
Niels Verburg
Bot River, South Africa
Owner and winemaker at Luddite Wines in Bot River, South Africa, Niels Verburg has worked in a line that stays close to material and method: Beaumont in 1996, then his own project…
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Niklas Niemeyer
Hamburg, Germany
Niklas Niemeyer’s work sits in the line of German hospitality kitchens where pace, consistency, and control matter as much as the menu. The through-line is fine-dining discipline:…
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Winemaker
Nils Venge
Calistoga, California, United States
Nils Venge earned a BS in Viticulture in 1967. His career includes work in Cabernet Sauvignon and roles as general manager and winemaker at Groth Vineyard in Oakville, winemaker…
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Winemaker
Nimród Kovács
Eger, Hungary
Nimród Kov’s defining role in wine is ownership of Kovács Nimród Winery in Eger. That position puts strategy, taste, and place in the same frame: a business built around a single…
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Winemaker
Norbert Breit
Oestrich-Winkel, Germany
Norbert Breit spent more than three decades at the Mosel estate of Weingüter Wegeler, a long arc of steady attention, patient judgment, and daily work with wine as it moved from…
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Winemaker
Norm Yost
Lompoc, California, United States
## The Climb Training at University of California, Davis gave Norm Yost a formal base before he entered cellar work at Foley in Santa Barbara, California in 1998. That sequence…
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Winemaker
Nova Perrill
Healdsburg, California, United States
Director of Winemaking at Mendocino Wine Company in Ukiah is the broadest current frame for Nova Perrill’s work, but the title reads as accumulation rather than arrival. The…
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Winemaker
Olivier de Certaines
Marble Falls, Texas, United States
Olivier de Certaines brings analytical discipline to Flat Creek Estate in Marble Falls, Texas, with work centered on Texas winemaking and the controlled task of keeping a wine…
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Winemaker
Olivier Fichet
Igé, France
Olivier Fichet is the winemaker and vinification lead at Domaine Fichet in Igé, France, where his work is rooted in a family story that began in 1976, when Francis Fichet withdrew…
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Winemaker
Olivier Merlin
La Roche-Vineuse, France
## Coming Up Harvest work in Mâconnais in 1977 put Olivier Merlin into the daily pace of vineyard labor before he ever settled into domaine management. That early shift was…
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Winemaker
Olivier Tezenas
Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer, France
Château de Brégançon sets the frame here: the place carries the line, the rhythm, and the refusal to overstate. Olivier Tezenas reduces that stance to one blunt sentence — “We are…
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Winemaker
Oscar Hernandez
Santiago Matatlán, Mexico
Oscar Hernandez works in mezcal through the discipline of family transmission and place. At Gracias a Dios in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, Mexico, his role as maestro mezcalero is…
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Winemaker
Ottó Légli
Balatonboglár, Hungary
Ottó Légli works as winemaker at Légli Ottó Pincészet in Balatonboglár, Hungary. The style tied to his name is light-bodied and fruit-led, with attention kept on purity, acidity,…
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Winemaker
Owen Latta
Ballarat, Australia
## The Climb Cellar work at Eastern Peake in Coghills Creek, Victoria put Owen Latta into the routines of the estate early: in 1999–1999 he was a cellar hand, and he looked after…
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Winemaker
Owen Martin
Louisville, Kentucky, United States
## The Climb Training at Heriot-Watt University gave Owen Martin the technical base for distilling, where method and control matter as much as taste. The move into production work…
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Winemaker
Pál Mészáros
Szekszárd, Hungary
Pál Mészáros has been the wine producer at Mészáros Pál Winery in Szekszárd since 2016. In that setting, the work is defined by the fundamentals: reading fruit against site,…
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Winemaker
Pam Starr
St. Helena, California, United States
## The Climb Technical training in Fermentation Science at University of California, Davis (1985) gave Pam Starr a framework for the kind of work that rewards precision before…
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Winemaker
Pancho Lavaque
Cafayate, Argentina
## Coming Up Formal study at UC Davis School gave Pancho Lavaque a technical base before the work narrowed into the conditions of Cafayate. The useful part of that training is not…
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Winemaker
Paolo Barbieri
Santa Ynez, California, United States
Master Sommelier Paolo Barbieri works with Rhône varietals and a palate drawn to wines that read deep, bold, and savory. Born in Parma, Italy, he applies a sommelier’s exacting…
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Chef
Paolo Salvo
Beijing, China
## The Path At Istituto Tecnico Industriale Galileo Ferraris, Paolo Salvo built the kind of technical discipline pizza rewards: precision, repetition, timing, and a reliable hand.…
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Chef
Pascal Hélard
Paris, France
Pascal Hélard cooks Classic French seafood at Le Duc in Paris, working in a register that prizes product over flourish. The line he draws is clear: fish handled with care, flavors…
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Winemaker
Pat Carmody
Sunbury, Australia
## The Climb Craiglee is the fixed point in Pat Carmody’s work: the vineyard, the land, and the responsibilities that come with both. His way of speaking about it is practical and…
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Winemaker
Paul Frankel
Paso Robles, California, United States
Paul Frankel’s work at Sculpterra Winery in Paso Robles, California is governed by a simple rule: “I let the grapes do the talking.” That posture leaves the vineyard room to lead,…
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Winemaker
Paul Gordon
Yorkville, California, United States
Originally from Sydney, Paul Gordon brought an old-world sensibility and a patient winemaker’s eye to Halcón Vineyards in Yorkville, United States, where he also served as owner…
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Winemaker
Paul Lindner
Barossa Valley, Australia
Paul Lindner’s work is anchored in place rather than rotation. At Langmeil Winery, the continuity of one Barossa address gives his winemaking a measured authority, built over time…
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Winemaker
Paul Messenger
Tumbulgum, Australia
## The Path Agricultural rum at Husk Distillers is built from cane, not adjuncts: fresh juice moves through fermentation, distillation and maturation, and Paul Messenger has…
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Winemaker
Paul Pernot
Puligny-Montrachet, France
## The Climb In Puligny-Montrachet, France, the craft is carried through continuity as much as change, and Paul Pernot’s position at Domaine Paul Pernot et Ses Fils is built on…
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Winemaker
Pauline Lhote
Napa, California, United States
## The Path At University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Pauline Lhote built the academic base for a career that moved through Nicolas Feuillatte and Moët & Chandon in France before…
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Winemaker
Paulo Coutinho
Sabrosa, Portugal
Since 1994, Paulo Coutinho has been the winemaker at Quinta do Portal in Sabrosa, Portugal, and that long tenure reads as a practice built on close attention rather than effect.…
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Winemaker
Pavlos Argyropoulos
Katerini, Greece
Pavlos Argyropoulos works as winemaker and co-founder of Ktima Pieria Eratini in Kolindros, Pieria, Greece, where place is not just a label but part of the brief. The estate’s…
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Winemaker
Pedro Baptista
Évora, Portugal
Pedro Baptista’s work sits where vineyard stewardship meets cellar craft, with Fundação Eugénio de Almeida in Évora, Portugal, shaping the wine identity of the house while he also…
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Winemaker
Pepe Moquillaza
Ica, Peru
Pepe Moquillaza’s work at Hacienda Quilloay in Ica is built around Quebranta: the grape sits at the center of both his pisco and his natural wines. In his case, the craft is less…
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Winemaker
Peter Fraser
McLaren Vale, Australia
## The Path Training in enology at the University of Adelaide gave Peter Fraser a technical base early, and that matters in wine: the work depends on knowing what to measure, when…
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Winemaker
Péter Molnár
Bodrogkisfalud, Hungary
Péter Molnár works at the intersection of estate management, academic instruction, and regional governance at Patricius Winery in Bodrogkisfalud, Hungary. In Tokaj, that mix…
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Winemaker
Péter Varga
Badacsonytomaj, Hungary
Péter Varga built Varga Pincészet in Badacsonytomaj into a large-scale Hungarian wine business, and that scale is part of the craft story: “From zero to 14 million!” is his own…
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Winemaker
Péter Várhelyi
Tokaj, Hungary
## Coming Up In Tokaj, the work of a winemaker is shaped by the vineyard calendar as much as by the cellar. At Hímesudvar, Péter Várhelyi’s role follows the season’s shifts: vine…
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Winemaker
Péter Vida
Szekszárd, Hungary
Péter Vida works from Vida Wines in Szekszárd, Hungary, where place and method stay in view at the same time. In a region shaped by history and by the patient work of the vine,…
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Peter Weis
Hammondsport, New York, United States
Peter Weis makes Traditional German-style wines as the defining craft of Weis Vineyards, and the frame for that work is simple: he says, “I grew up on vineyards in the Mosel.”…
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Winemaker
Petros Markantonatos
Cephalonia, Greece
He has ties to Melbourne, Australia. ## The Climb Training at Technological Institute of Athens, RMIT University, and University of Sussex (1996) gave Petros Markantonatos a base…
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Winemaker
Phil Baxter
Boonville, California, United States
Phil Baxter works in wine through the overlapping disciplines of study, cellar work, and time in place. At Fathers & Daughters Cellars in Boonville, where he is winemaker, that…
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Winemaker
Philippe Langner
Napa, California, United States
On Atlas Peak, Cabernet Sauvignon starts with estate fruit from Kitoko Vineyard, the 14.2-acre site tied to Philippe Langner’s most specific work. At Hesperian Wines in Napa,…
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Winemaker
Phillip Baxter
Philo, California, United States
From winemaker at Baxter Winery in Philo, United States, to owner/winemaker of the same winery, Phillip Baxter’s work shows a steady broadening of responsibility rather than a…
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Winemaker
Pierre Damoy
Gevrey-Chambertin, France
Pierre Damoy has worked at Domaine Pierre Damoy in Gevrey-Chambertin, France, in a dual role that combines management with winemaking. Since 1992, that work has been anchored in…
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Winemaker
Pierre-Henri Rougeot
Meursault, France
## The Path Training at Lycée Viticole gave Pierre-Henri Rougeot the base language of the trade: vines, fruit, and fermentation. That schooling was followed by work on the…
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Winemaker
Rachel Stinson
White Hall, Virginia, United States
Rachel Stinson makes small-batch, garagiste wines at Stinson Vineyards in White Hall, United States, where the work stays close to the ground and close to the hand. As owner and…
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Winemaker
Rafael Domingo
Cafayate, Argentina
## Where It Started A formal base sits at the start of the work: Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, where Rafael Domingo studied in 2001. That date and school matter because they place…
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Winemaker
Raimond de Villeneuve
Taradeau, France
Raimond de Villeneuve works with wine as a matter of precision rather than gesture. His specialty is quality natural wines from the château, and that remit places the work…
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Winemaker
Rainer Christ
Vienna, Austria
Rainer Christ is the Austrian winemaker of Weingut Rainer Christ in Vienna, Austria. The shape of the work is local and accountable: a city winery, a family name on the label, and…
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Winemaker
Rainer Schnaitmann
Fellbach, Germany
Rainer Schnaitmann works as owner and cellarmaster at Weingut Rainer Schnaitmann in Fellbach, Germany, where the estate is guided from broad direction to cellar detail under one…
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Ramona Nicholson
Sonoma, California, United States
Ramona Nicholson’s work is built around a specific site, and the site sets the terms. Nicholson Ranch in Sonoma County, the family-owned and operated vineyard and winery, anchors…
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Winemaker
Randy Meyer
Redwood Valley, California, United States
## The Path Winemaking at the University of California, Davis set the frame for Randy Meyer’s work in terms of patience, precision, and attentiveness. The cellar at Valley of the…
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Winemaker
Raymond Haak
Santa Fe, Texas, United States
Raymond Haak built his defining work as owner and winemaker of Haak Vineyards & Winery in Santa Fe, Texas, United States. The work sits at the intersection of vineyard labor,…
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Winemaker
Raymond Smith
Paso Robles, California, United States
Raymond Smith is winemaker and owner at Indigené Cellars in Paso Robles, United States. He is also the founder of Indigené Cellars in Paso Robles, United States, a role that…
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Winemaker
Reinaldo de Lucca
Canelones, Uruguay
## Coming Up The work at Bodega De Lucca in El Colorado, Progreso, Uruguay is built on family inheritance translated into cellar discipline, with high-end wines as the register of…
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Winemaker
Remi Zajac
Redwood Valley, California, United States
Petite Sirah anchors Remi Zajac’s work at Powicana Farm & Winery in Redwood Valley, where the wine is shaped to read as an extension of the site rather than a separate expression…
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Winemaker
Ricard Rofes
Escaladei, Spain
Ricard Rofes has been winemaker at Cellers de Scala Dei in Escaladei, Spain, since 2007, and the work there reads as a direct conversation with place. Vineyard, cellar, and hand…
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Winemaker
Rich Hartenberger
Paso Robles, California, United States
Rich Hartenberger’s route to Owner & Director of Winemaking at Midnight Cellars in Paso Robles starts with a 1994 Napa Valley wine-tasting vacation. By March 1995, that trip had…
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Winemaker
Rich Parducci
Ukiah, California, United States
Rich Parducci’s work is built around restraint, repetition, and the discipline of small corrections made consistently well. At McNab Ridge Winery in Ukiah, the Winemaker/Managing…
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Winemaker
Rich Salvestrin
St. Helena, California, United States
His work reads less like a series of moves than a tightening of focus: a career shaped by inheritance, stewardship, and the slow discipline of building value inside one name. ##…
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Winemaker
Richard Arrowood
Glen Ellen, California, United States
## The Climb Training at University of California, Davis and California State University, Fresno gave Richard Arrowood the technical base for a career built in stages rather than…
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Winemaker
Richard Batchelor
Goldendale, Washington, United States
Richard Batchelor has been winemaker at Maryhill Winery in Goldendale, Washington, since 2009, and the work there reflects a long apprenticeship in formal study, cellar practice,…
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Winemaker
Richard Bowen
Johnson City, Texas, United States
"In 2008-2009, my wife Melanie and I were doing the 290 wine trail and she said we can do this. So, she started ordering wine kits and it took off from there." ## The Path Grayson…
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Winemaker
Rick Longoria
Santa Ynez, California, United States
In 1974, Rick Longoria entered wine as a cellar worker at Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma, and the work started where it should: with tanks, tools, and the repetition that teaches a…
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Winemaker
Rick Moshin
Healdsburg, California, United States
Rick Moshin is the owner and winemaker of Moshin Vineyards in Healdsburg, and the shape of that work reflects a path that moved from classroom discipline into the practical…
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Winemaker
Rick Small
Lowden, Washington, United States
Rick Small has worked at the point where stewardship and cellar work meet, making wines with the patience that comes from a long relationship to place. At Woodward Canyon Winery…
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Winemaker
Rob Campbell-Taylor
San Miguel, California, United States
He moved to Paso Robles in 2003 to raise his kids and help build the winery, after finding a property with a grape vineyard and a nearby cemetery. The setting was unusual, even…
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Winemaker
Rob Griffin
Richland, Washington, United States
## Career Founder and Head Winemaker at Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Rob Griffin built a role where ownership and production sit in the same frame: the name is on the…
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Winemaker
Rob Hunter
Calistoga, California, United States
## Coming Up The cellar work was built on disciplined repetition: University of California, Davis provided the technical base, then came roles that put the work of harvest and…
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Winemaker
Robert Fritz
Dripping Springs, Texas, United States
## The Path The courtroom leaves a visible mark on the cellar when a winemaker comes up through state and federal trial work, and Robert Fritz brings that discipline to Solaro…
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Winemaker
Róbert Gilvesy
Hegymagas, Hungary
Róbert Gilvesy’s work is organized around site, and around the pull of Szent György-hegy / Saint George Mountain, the volcanic rise that sets the terms for Gilvesy Winery in…
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Winemaker
Robert Heywood
Pyrenees, Australia
Robert Heywood's work at Taltarni Vineyards in the Pyrenees sits inside a craft shaped by place, cellar discipline, and the long view of vineyard timing. Raised near the vineyard…
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Winemaker
Robert Hunt
St. Helena, California, United States
## The Path Full-time work at Pine Ridge Vineyards gave Robert Hunt the base that many winemakers spend years trying to build: repetition, precision, and a close read of cellar…
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Winemaker
Robert W. Young
Comfort, Texas, United States
Robert W. Young serves as CEO and Executive Winemaker of Bending Branch Winery in Comfort, United States, where the work is framed as Texas Wine with a longer horizon. Dr. Bob’s…
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Winemaker
Robert Walters
Macedon Ranges, Australia
## The Climb Wine commerce is a trade of distribution as much as winemaking, and Robert Walters works both sides of that ledger. In Melbourne, he holds a second active post in…
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Winemaker
Roberto Castagner
Vazzola, Italy
## The Climb At the Oenological school of Conegliano, Roberto Castagner trained in the technical language of grapes, fermentation, and controlled transformation. That education…
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Winemaker
Roberto de la Mota
Luján de Cuyo, Argentina
In the work associated with Roberto de la Mota, Malbec sits at the center of the portfolio, but not as a closed category. The range extends into named bottlings such as La Gran…
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Roberto Dellavalle
Asti, Italy
## The Climb Since 1983, Roberto Dellavalle has been winemaker of Distilleria Dellavalle, and the work has been one of continuity rather than reinvention. A long tenure in the…
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Winemaker
Robin Akhurst
Rutherford, California, United States
The work was built through formal study and harvest seasons before it reached Swanson Vineyards and Clos Pegase Winery, taking shape across service, retail, production, cellar…
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Winemaker
Robin Brockett
Geelong, Australia
## The Climb Since 2013, Robin Brockett has held two winemaking roles at once: Chief Winemaker of Scotchmans Hill and winemaker of Robin Brockett Wines. The arrangement asks for…
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Winemaker
Rod Berglund
Forestville, California, United States
“I never dreamed of becoming a winemaker.” For Rod Berglund, the line reads less like a story than a working principle: good wine comes from attention, not display. As owner and…
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Winemaker
Rodrigo Arizu
Luján de Cuyo, Argentina
Rodrigo Arizu is CEO and Owner of Viña Alicia in Luján de Cuyo, Argentina, where varietal discipline and sense of place guide the work. The line he uses is direct: “Malbec is the…
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Winemaker
Rogelio Rabino
Maipú, Argentina
Rogelio Rabino’s work at Finca Flichman in Maipú is built around Barrancas in Mendoza and around a cellar language that puts site before style: “All our lines are terroir-focused,…
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Winemaker
Rohan Smith
Yarra Valley, Australia
At Medhurst Wines in the Yarra Valley, Chief Winemaker Rohan Smith works from the vineyard outward. The sequence matters: soil, then vineyard decisions, then wine. That order…
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Winemaker
Roland Velich
Großhöflein, Austria
Roland Velich works at Weingut Moric in Großhöflein, where family inheritance is not treated as backdrop but as working material. The center of that craft is Blaufränkisch, and in…
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Winemaker
Rolanie Lotz
Paarl, South Africa
Rolanie Lotz works at the point where vineyard material becomes finished wine: cellarmaster at Rhebokskloof Wine Estate in Paarl, South Africa. The job asks for control, timing,…
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Winemaker
Roxie Ward
Santa Ynez, California, United States
From Napa Valley to Santa Barbara County, Sta. Rita Hills, and the Santa Ynez Valley, Roxie Ward’s work tracks a series of technical posts that built toward winemaking leadership.…
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Winemaker
Rudy Marchesi
Forest Grove, Oregon, United States
Since 2005, Rudy Marchesi has held the dual charge of owner and winemaker at Montinore Estate in Forest Grove, Oregon. That pairing matters: ownership sets the long view,…
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