Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon Region: Napa Valley, CA Farming: Organic       No Love Lost Wines Co was founded by California born, first generation Cuban American, and Orlando, Florida raised Jay Nunez. Before wine, Jay worked in the music industry for more than 10 years including playing in a band in Florida. Long interested in the outdoors and farming he spent one harvest interning in Napa Valley. He was hooked both by the people he met in Napa Valley, the process of winemakin

Grape: Aglianico Region: Campania, Italy Farming: Sustainable Fattoria La Rivolta, a family-owned winery, traces its roots back to the early twentieth century when Giovanni and Teresa combined their strengths and acquired land in the Ciurica, Rivolta, and Roseto districts. Their efforts resulted in one of the largest and most productive farms in the province of Benevento. Situated in Torrecuso, in the province of Benevento, Fattoria La Rivolta's vineyards are nestled among th

Grape: Albariño Region: Rias Baixas, Spain Farming: Organic The Rías Baixas, in the heart of Galicia, represent one of the most unique jewels of the Spanish wine scene. This privileged region offers an exceptional environment for growing vines, where the Atlantic microclimate, the complex topography and the granitic soils combine harmoniously with the native varieties, giving rise to a unique and extremely rich wine ecosystem. The distinctive character of the wines of the Ría

Grape: Gruner Veltliner  Region: Willamette Valley, Oregon Farming: Organic Erich Berg’s journey into winemaking is as rich and varied as the wines he creates. After a vibrant career in Chicago’s fine-dining scene, Erich moved to Oregon in 2004 with a singular goal: to master the art of winemaking. His first harvest at the esteemed Domaine Serene set the stage, where he honed his skills in a setting renowned for its high standards and rigorous expectations. However, a challen

Grapes: Carignan, Valdiguie Region: Mendocino County, CA Farming:Organic LIOCO was conceived in the summer of 2005 in the alley behind Spago Beverly Hills. Wine director Kevin O’Connor and wine salesman Matt Licklider, critical of the heavy-handed wines of the day, wondered if it was possible to make more nuanced wines from California soils. In the early aughts, this was still relatively unknown. By contrast, vineyards in France and Italy were long ago mapped according to qua

Grape: Grignolino Region: Piedmont, Italy Farming: Organic Nestled within the original castle of Castagnole Monferrato, La Miraja was constructed as an armory in the 11th century, only to be retrofitted as a cellar in the 1400s. In this armory-turned- cellar, Eugenio Gatti, a seventh-generation viticulturist, turns out Barbera, Grignolino, Freisa, and his fabled Ruché. La Miraja (pronounced “me-rye-uh”) is tiny by any measure, comprising less than 4 hectares under vine. It is

Grapes: Zametna Crnina, Blaufrankisch, Pinot Noir Region: Ptuj, Slovenia Farming: Organic Gönc winery is a family tradition going back to 1936, when Peter Gönc’s great grandfather built their first wine cellar and planted the vineyard around it in the small town of Dobrovnik in Slovenia. After World War II, his grandfather moved to the city Ptuj where he started working in the Ptujska Klet, or Ptuj wine cellar, as a cellar cleaner and worked his way up to head winemaker and C

Grape: Vermentino  Region: Tuscany, Italy  Farming: Organic The addition of the contemporary Casanova Estate to the La Spinetta family came about as the result of a challenge between Giorgio Rivetti and a Tuscan colleague. Giorgio, convinced of the indisputable value of indigenous grape varieties, often found himself criticizing his Tuscan winemaking counterparts, not being able to comprehend why producers were replacing beautiful, historic Sangiovese vineyards with young int

Grapes: Corvina, Rondinella Region: Veneto, Italy Farming: Organic Immersed in the winemaking traditions of the Valpantena and Valpolicella areas of Veneto, the Tezza family has been dedicated to working in wine for three generations. Grandparents Giovanni and Virginia launched the family vineyard operation in 1960, and their children, Paolo, Giuseppe, and Renzo carried the family into winemaking. From 1998 on, the Tezza winery has been owned and operated by cousins Flavio, V

Grape: Pinot Noir Region: Burgundy, France Farming: Organic After getting a masters in finance and working a few years in the business sector, Antoine Reniaume came back to Burgundy to work in the vineyards. His grandfather had been an agricultural engineer living in Bouzeron, on the border between the Côte de Beaune and the Côte Chalonnaise. Antoine got his viticultural degree in Beaune and pursued an apprenticeship at Meo-Camuzet, in the Côte de Nuits. During his tenure at

Grapes: Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Muscat Region: Alsace, France Farming: Organic Amélie and Charles Sparr are Alsatian through and through; both come from winegrowing families. The Sparr family has been in the region since 1634, making Charles the 12th generation. Pierre Sparr, a famous and respected negociant, was Charles's great grandfather. The company was sold in 2007 to a local co-op and the vineyards the family owned were split up among the cousins and Charles's uncle. Cha

Grape: Favorita Region: Langhe, Italy  Farming: Organic The Abbona winery is represented by the hard work of the first Marziano Abbona and his son Celso. Celso Abbona was among the first of his generation to believe in the potential of Dogliani and its territory. Together with his family, Celso planted the legendary vineyard Bricco Doriolo, located in Santa Lucia di Dogliani. Today, this vineyard not only embodies the historical memory of the company, but it represents one of

Grape: Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese  Region: Tuscany, Italy Farming: Sustainable Fabio Chiarelotto has been the guiding hand at the helm of Montepeloso since 1999. He holds a doctorate in history and is an ardent perfectionist. From the very beginning, he has pursued the same goal in both winery and vineyard: to develop the full potential of the terroir with unwavering determination, while disregarding the fleeting trends in the winegrowing industry and the markets. Pursuit

Grape: Cabernet Franc Region: Saumur, France Farming: Organic Founded at the beginning of the 20th century by Clément Manguin, Romain’s great grandfather, the domaine was then passed on to Clément’s son in law, Robert Guiberteau, a talented winemaker and one of the founding members of the cave cooperative of Saumur. In 1954, recognizing the great potential of this terroir, Robert purchased several hectares on the hill of Brézé, in particular the Clos des Carmes, considered by

Grape: Ribolla Gialla   Region: Friuli, Italy Farming: Organic Ronchi di Cialla is a historic producer in the Collio Orientali del Friuli, just under three miles as the crow flies from the Slovenian border.   Ronchi means “hills,” and Cialla , the name of the valley comes from the Slovenian word cela  which means “riviera.” It was given this name because it had a microclimate similar to the Mediterranean - with olive trees and other Mediterranean plants. When Dina and Paolo f

Grape: Chenin Blanc  Region: Loire Valley, France  Farming: Organic Pierre Papin bought Château Pierre-Bise, at the age of 50, in 1959. In 1974, his son Claude took on the original nine hectares in Pays de la Loire and gradually expanded the estate, particularly during the 1980s, with the purchase of vines from his winegrower father-in-law in Rochefort , Chaume and Quarts-de-Chaume . In 1992, he also took over the Clos de Coulaine vineyard, adding the Savennières  appellation

Grapes:Cinsault,Carignane,Zinfandel Region: Lodi, CA Farming: Sustainable Sandlands is the personal project of Tegan Passalacqua. The line-up encompasses the forgotten classic California varieties, primarily grown in decomposed granite (sand), from regions and vineyards that have been farmed for many generations but have remained the outliers of California viticulture. Primarily head-trained, dry-farmed and own rooted, the vineyards we work with harken back to California’s ro

Grapes: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre Region: North Coast, Ca Farming: Organic The name Jolie-Laide translates loosely to “Pretty-Ugly,” a French term of endearment used to describe something unconventionally beautiful. Based in Sonoma County, California, Scott and Jenny Schultz work with a small group of growers to source fruit from exceptional vineyard sites — stretching from San Benito and Monterey Counties in the Central Coast AVA, up through Sonoma, and further north into M

Grape: Chenin Blanc Region: California Farming: Organic Pax and Pam moved to wine country in 1997 to create a lifestyle that involved working with wine. After a few years of tasting and sourcing wine from all over California, Pax finally found a vineyard in which he felt a kismet connection. Alder Springs Vineyard was the site and subsequently led to the launch of the PAX brand in 2000. Their entire lineup of wines came from cool climate vineyards in Sonoma County and Mendoci

Grape: Lambrusco Di Sorbara  Region: Emilia-Romagna, Italy Farming: Organic Zanasi is a small estate, about 55 acres of vineyards, just south of Modena. Founded in 1978 by Bruno Zanasi, the estate in led today by his grandsons Marco and Matteo. Some of the vines are cultivated organically (and are so certified), others by Integrated Pest Management, yields are low, in order to ensure good concentration of aroma and flavor. Winemaking is relatively straightforward as they work