Archives: Wine Makers

One sip of a wine made by Christine Marchi, and there’s no doubt this winemaker has an intuitive understanding of coastal vineyards and an uncanny ability for sensory evaluation and blending. It’s also clear she considers the food and wine experience every step of the way in the cellar.

As the winemaker behind Cloudfall in Monterey County and Sonoma-based Pacific Heights, Christine selects grapes from California’s coveted coastal sites to create exceedingly foodfriendly wines—wines that convey the unmistakable acidity and crisp flavor of cool-climate fruit.

A somewhat circuitous route landed Christine in the world of wine. While earning her bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of California at Davis, an introductory winemaking course forever changed the trajectory of her career. She has circled the globe—working harvests at Kendall-Jackson in Sonoma, Rutherford Hill in Napa, Cumulus in Australia, Ledson in Sonoma, Villa Maria in New Zealand and Beringer in Napa—before settling at Trinchero Family Estates. After honing her skills at the family’s St. Helena winery for four years, Christine was given the opportunity of a lifetime to explore her passion for coastal vineyards with Cloudfall and Pacific Heights.

“I’m always thinking about how I can bring flavor, mouthfeel and acidity together in a way that expresses a pure sense of place,” explains Christine. “To me, a balanced wine is one that works in concert with food. An interesting wine is one that interprets the land in a meaningful way.”

Somehow, Christine delivers both in every bottle of wine she crafts.

In 1995 Julie and Frank Husic purchased 120 acres in, and above, the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. Because of an anti-hillside planting law, the Husics had to act (plant) quickly. With the help of premiere vineyard manager Jim Barbour, they were permitted in 1996, and planted in 1997. The Husics are lucky to have three beautiful, rocky, steep, estate vineyards, totaling nine acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyards slope is over 40 degrees, from approximately 900 feet, to the Valley Floor. In 2005 they added a beautiful Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, and in 2010 a fabulous Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir to their portfolio. This year they are delighted to offer a Rosé of Pinot Noir and a Late Harvest of Semillon. Husic Vineyards also produces wine under the Palm Terrace label. The Husics are blessed with two sons, FJ and Paris, ages 15 and 16, who are well-rehearsed in the family wine business. Please note everyone’s name on the front label!

Marc Zaccaria joined the Etude team in the role of Winemaker in May, 2017. Marc transitioned to Etude from his previous role in Paso Robles as the Chateau St. Jean Assistant Winemaker overseeing the California tier. Marc was also very involved in both Masstige and Luxury wines produced at Paso360, in particular, assisting with Lyric by Etude wines.

Marc joined Treasury Wine Estates in 2007 as a winemaking Intern upon graduation from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo (go Mustangs!) where he originally studied bio-chemistry with a path to go in to Pharmacy. Marc changed his major to Enology after discovering a passion for wine while tasting through Paso Robles and the Edna Valley wine countries with friends. He ended up with a B.S. in Enology after 3 years of studying bio-chemistry. Marc then joined the Meridian team permanently, briefly in the lab, then as Assistant Winemaker for TAZ.

Marc grew up as the youngest son of a first generation Italian-American family where wine was always a staple at the dinner table. From an early age Marc remembers being handed a glass of diluted red wine as part of the evening supper ritual. The heritage of wine being prominent at the dinner table combined with his enthusiasm for chemistry nurtured an eagerness in Marc to learn as much as possible about the winemaking process.

Over the past decade, Marc has gained valuable experience and demonstrated a broad understanding of winemaking across all tiers. His travels have taken him to Australia, where he made wine for Wolfe Blass in the Barossa Valley, as well as Sonoma where he worked at Chateau St. Jean in 2015. Marc’s passion for wine, his thirst for knowledge and easygoing nature are a tribute to his character.

Marc and his wife Megan, along with their dog Gruner all reside in the Napa Valley community.

Chantal Forthun, Director of Winemaking, has led the winemaking team at Flowers Vineyards & Winery since 2012. She and her team source Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from estate vineyards and other family-owned vineyards throughout the cool Sonoma Coast. They use minimal intervention in the winery to let the remarkable character of this fruit shine through.

“Each vintage gives us a fresh opportunity to attentively farm our Sonoma Coast vineyards and take these grapes from vine to bottle. At Flowers, “minimal intervention” doesn’t mean hands-off; it actually means more hands are involved in the preparation, requiring us to be present in each moment, through every step of the process.”

Chantal has made wine at Oak Ridge Winery, Rhys Vineyards, and Bonny Doon Vineyard—where, under Randall Grahm, she learned biodynamic farming and natural winemaking in the creation of their terroir-driven wines. A stint at Quartz Reef Winery in the Central Otago region of New Zealand sparked the passion for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that she brings to her role at Flowers.

Chantal is a California native, having grown up surrounded by agriculture in the Central Valley. She holds degrees in Biology and Botany from Chico State. Just a few weeks into her first winemaking job, while barrel fermenting Chardonnay, Chantal knew she’d found the right vocation—one that engages all the senses, involves science, art, and physical labor, and inspires camaraderie through close teamwork.

Based in Garzón, Christian Wylie is responsible for the entire winery and all aspects of its operations – production, winemaking, viticulture, marketing, sales management, hospitality, and tourism activities. As General Manager, Wylie brings nearly twenty years of wine industry experience along with additional business management skills.

Wylie has an impressive track record with family-owned and managed businesses, including senior leadership roles at Carolina Wine Brands in Chile and Establecimiento Juanicó from Uruguay. He holds an agricultural engineering degree with a specialization in fruiticulture and enology from the Catholic University of Chile. He also studied at the University of California at Davis, and completed a post-graduate senior management program at the ESE Business School in Chile.

One of Wylie’s passions is traveling the globe. Brining food, wine, and different cultures together is the epitome of his new role at Bodega Garzón as the winery leads the charge for the emerging Uruguayan wine industry. Being situated at the nexus of the active lifestyle with José Ignacio and Garzón, Wylie and his family are excellent representatives of the region.

“I am fortunate to be part of this family-owned enterprise. The commitment to quality at every aspect – winery, vineyards, and hospitality – is unprecedented led by Alejandro Bulgheroni and his family. The long-term vision that began with the vineyard planting a decade ago is now seen with the winery’s unveiling and our promise of sustainability at every level. The opportunity to lead a passionate and dedicated team is incredible. We look forward to welcoming visitors from all four corners of the world to our special place.”

Giovanni Bonmartini-Fini was born in the United States but raised on the shores of Northern Italian Lake Garda, where Barone Fini wine is now made. Giovanni leads the family wine business as Count Giovanni Bonmartini-Fini, President of Barone Fini Wines.

After attending various schools in France, Italy, and Belgium, Giovanni elected to travel to the U.S. to attend Princeton University where he graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology. He has always been fascinated with science and technology and speaks French, Italian and English fluently. His love for all things Italian led him back to Italy after college to start an innovative toner cartridge business, which has 550 stores throughout Europe.

Living in Rome, Italy, with his wife Scilla and their two sons, he produces Barone Fini wines, specializing in Pinot Grigio. He is passionate about wine and if it were up to him, he would prefer to spend all of his time in the vineyards. Giovanni travels throughout the U.S. to represent Barone Fini and his family’s 500+ years of winemaking heritage.

Jessica Julmy has been with Maison Krug for almost five years, joining in July 2013. In a senior role reporting into the Krug CEO, as Business Development Manager she has been the primary link of the Maison with the markets in Europe and LatAMEC (Latin America, Africa, Middle East, and Canada). Most recently she has taken on the role as International Commercial Director leading Krug through the commercial landscape.

In light of the Maison-Distribution relationship, she has two missions: 1) with the Distribution and 2) within the Maison. For the Distribution, she has been responsible for the development of each market within her zone, and has worked closely with the financial controller, the markets, and the Maison President. Within the Maison, she provided the markets’ vision to the management teams, namely for brand strategy, coordination, representation, and development.

Jessica Julmy is Swiss-American, born to Swiss parents in Chicago. English and French aside, she is fluent in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, having swopped a career in commercial real estate in China and Argentina, with a fine wine profession in London and Hong Kong, and graduating from London Busines School.

Born in 1977, Pierre Casenave grew up in the pyrénées atlantiques, renowned for tapas, ferias and rugby, a region closed to Spain. Pierre is an oenologist at the Champagne House Veuve Clicquot in Reims, France.

Casenave has had quite an original career path, as he studied pharmacy first during six years at the University of Bordeaux, majoring in chemistry. During his fifth year, he continued with his chemistry studies in Pamplona, Spain. Thereafter, he completed a Doctorate Dissertation in Chemistry under the subject: ‘a chemical approach to the vinification in Bordeaux’. Pierre recognised his passion for Enology and obtained a diploma in Enology from the University of Montpellier. He then enrolled at Bordeaux International Wine Institute in 2007 and graduated an MBA Wine.

Professionally, Pierre has been a winemaker at prestigious wineries in Saint Emilion, Pomerol, as well as the Stellenbosch wine region in South Africa and in California.

Pierre Casenave joined Champagne Veuve Clicquot in 2008 as a winemaker in the wine communication team headed by Cyril Brun. He is proud to belong to the tasting panel led by chef de caves Dominique Demarville, taking an active part in the creation of the finest quality blends for all of the House’s wines. He is also involved in the harvest and winemaking in Vertus. Casenave now plays a significant role in the communication efforts of Veuve Clicquot – tasting, promoting and training all over the world in French, English and Spanish.

Alison Rodriguez, a winemaking graduate from the Fachhochschule Geisenheim, has honed her winemaking skills in hillside vineyards of a wide variety: from the slopes of the Rheingau and Nahe valleys, to the alpine foothills of the Alto Adige, to every hillside AVA in Napa Valley.

Alison’s work in these diverse growing regions has given her perspective on what nuances the unique combinations of vineyard site, soil, slope and sun contribute to the personality of each wine. In 2016 she joined the team at The Hess Collection as Winemaker, and Alison is currently responsible for the creation of the Napa Valley based Allomi Cabernet Sauvignon, the award-winning Hess Select Monterey Chardonnay, the restaurant-exclusive portfolio of Shirtail Ranches wines, and she contributes her skills to the Hess Collection Small Block Series and The Lion Cabernet Sauvignon, as well.

She enjoys travelling for work and pleasure, having visited over 35 winegrowing regions throughout the world. A few new regions on her wish list are the Savoie, Priorat and the sparkling wineries of southern England. In tandem with her winemaking, Alison has also earned the WSET Advanced Certificate.

She is an enthusiastic gardener and has planted a scent garden at her home filled with verbenas, lavender, roses, geraniums, citrus and herbs of all varieties. She lives in Napa with her Swiss-Spanish husband and young daughter

Marc Perrin, the son of Jean-Pierre Perrin, was born April 25, 1970. He graduated from Paris Graduate School of Management in 1993, and worked at Procter & Gamble from 1994-96. In 1996 he founded www. wineandco.com, the leading French wine online retailer. He sold the company to LVMH in 2002 – a great retail experience. He has been involved in the assemblage and winemaking at Beaucastel since 1988 and joined the family company full time in 2002. After serving as general manager and traveling around the world marketing the wines of the Perrin family, he now serves as CEO for the company.

People often throw around the words “living legend.” Robin Daniel Lail actually is one. Her quiet graciousness may show a healthy dose of Napa-sewn hospitality but it doesn’t immediately reveal the deep legend of her family’s legacy: as a modern, respected producer of fine wines; a protégée of Robert Mondavi; the co-founder of Merryvale Vineyards and Dominus Estate; and the great-grandniece of Gustave Niebaum, founder of the storied Inglenook. Robin and her husband, the renowned architectural designer Jon Lail, established Lail Vineyards in 1995. Each year Lail attempts to make wines which are just a little bit better than the wine they made the year before. With Philippe Melka, their winemaker of 22 years, they are galvanized by the endless pursuit of perfection.

As co-founder and CEO of Staglin Family Vineyard, since 1985, Shari has successfully grown Staglin into an international brand. She is active in the Napa Valley Vintners and Napa Valley Grapegrowers Associations. Her previous experience in health care management in N.Y. and the Bay Area served her well in co-founding One Mind. OM, with its Music Festival for Brain Health has raised and leveraged over $280 million for research. She served on UCLA’s Foundation board. She has a BA in International Relations, UCLA; an MPA, NYU and graduate work in enology and viticulture at UC Davis.