Denali Estate was founded by Walt and Katherine Schlotfeldt with their first vintage in 2016. Katherine's mother lived in Sonoma for twenty years; Katherine would often visit her and during her trips, became familiar with both Sonoma County and Napa Valley. Walt would frequently fly both of them from Seattle to the Santa Rosa Airport; over the years they … [Read more...]

Neiman Cellars (pronounced nigh-man). Drew Neiman is originally from Akron, Ohio; his cousins Eli and Mildred Neiman operated Regency Wine Sellers in Fairlawn Ohio and it was through his relationship with them and exposure to wines in their store that he began to consider a career centered around wine. Some of the wines that initially captivated him were … [Read more...]

Fisch Family Wines. Founder and owner, Gary Fisch is from New Jersey; he began his career in wine after graduating from Rider College with a B.S. in Political Science as a sales associate at New Jersey based Fedway Associates, Inc. This is a wholesale wine and spirits supplier which was founded right after the repeal of Prohibition. They continue to serve … [Read more...]

Simon Family Estate. Sam Simon (Armenian but born in Iraq) immigrated from northern Iraq through Lebanon to Detroit, Michigan in 1973 at age 9 along with his parents and four siblings. They family brought only $200 with them and lived in a church (one of their sponsors) before they found their own housing. The story of his success over the past few decades … [Read more...]

Lanthanide Wines was founded by Diane Wu and Philippe Venghiattis with their inaugural vintage in 2018. While the focus of their production is on Napa Valley grown Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, they do produce several other bottlings including of Marsanne, Viognier, Tempranillo and Aglianico. Diane is the winemaker for Lanthanide; it is clear that she … [Read more...]

The Vice Wine. Founder Malek Amrani was born in Morocco and raised in Casablanca. His father was a pilot who was often routed on flights to and from various countries in Europe. The family conveniently lived 15 minutes from the airport. Malek remembers his father encouraging him at age 8 to smell wine for the first time. His father drank wine and it was … [Read more...]

Wolf's Head Wine is a partnership between winemaker Cameron Woodbridge and Shaun Mesher (a chemist involved in the oil industry). Both men are from Canada. Shaun has met several Napa Valley vintners whose relationships led to wine business opportunities including the founder of Essere Franco wines, Frank D'Ambrosio. Shaun was one of Essere Franco's wine club … [Read more...]

Stormy Weather Wine founder, Cameron Woodbridge was born in Ontario, Canada and was introduced to wine early in life with his family embracing a European openness to alcohol, allowing their children to sample tiny amounts of wine with food. During high school the family lived in Edmonton. The drinking age in Alberta is 18 years old. Cameron recalls his … [Read more...]

Appellation Trading Company was founded by Charles Bartlett in 2008. Charles spent his formative years in Napa Valley (graduate of Justin Sienna High School), went to college at Chico State University and after graduating worked in printing in San Francisco. Tired of commuting from Napa to San Francisco he started his own printing company in Napa and began … [Read more...]