Culinary and Hospitality

Oct. 3, 2025 – Sixty-one years ago, Dr. David Bruce (1931-2021), a dermatologist in northern California who was introduced to wine as a medical student at Stanford University, opened a bottle of Richebourg Burgundy produced from grapes grown in the Cote de Nuits subregion of the Cote d’Or. Its aroma filled the air. After tasting it, he caught the wine bug as he would often say. Along with his professional medical career, David’s passion for red wine motivated him to launch a second parallel career as a winemaker. “I want to make the best pinot noir in California,” he exclaimed, according to Cody Ewers, general manager of the David Bruce Winery, during a July 11, 2025 telephone interview with the Chaîne. “We’re living in a David Bruce Winery 2.0 without the legend, David Bruce,” Cody said.

David Bruce

To fulfill his dream, in the early 1960s, David purchased 45 acres at the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking Monterey Bay. He enlisted the help of Martin Ray, a vintner with experience growing pinot noir grapes in Sonoma County.

David’s many hours spent in laboratories studying chemistry, physics and biology to earn his medical degree definitely influenced his approach to grape growing and then winemaking. He loved conducting experiments so he began fermenting many different types of grapes and then analyzing the results.

In consultation with Martin and with a singular focus on pinot noir, he developed a clone that is now known as the David Bruce Selection, vines he planted in his vineyard. Cody said what David did with that clone speaks volumes about the magnanimous man he was. Instead of closely holding the clone, he distributed it to his neighbors to plant and propagate. “You can’t plant a vineyard without cuttings from someone’s else vineyard,” Cody said.

It didn’t take long for the David Bruce Winery to gain international attention. The winery was one of 12 American wineries that participated in the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, commonly known as the Judgment of Paris. It was a competition that put American wineries up against centuries old French wineries in two categories – chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. When Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars from California came out on top with their cabernet sauvignon and another American winery won the chardonnay competition, California’s reputation as a premier wine region was sealed. The prestigious recognition in Paris spurred dramatic growth as vineyards popped up not only in Napa Valley but also throughout California’s Central Coast. The California dream now included owning and operating a vineyard and winery. From just a few dozen wineries in Napa Valley in 1976, several hundred now operate there, according to information from the Napa Valley Vintners.

In the 1960s when David planted his vineyard, his neighbors had the benefit of receiving a clone that was the result of David’s scientific approach to winemaking and passionate dedication to matching the quality of Burgundian wine. Decades later David was the beneficiary of his own generosity. In the 1990s, Pierce’s disease, a bacterial infection of grapevines first seen in California in the late 19th century, spread throughout his vineyard. David was able to get cuttings of his original clone from his neighbors to replant his vineyard. “He had a spirit of generosity and a belief that a rising tide lifts all ships. That was very much David Bruce, who he was,” Cody said.

In 1985, David closed his medical practice to become a full time vintner.

Mitri, David Bruce viticulturist who has worked in and managed California vineyards for more than 30 years, said David loved to pair food and wine. “He just loved going out to restaurants and sometimes would take one or two bottles of wine to give to the chef to make something around that bottle.”

David’s legacy

When David passed away in 2021, the void was deeply felt yet David had left such a defined vision and culture that Jan, his wife, was determined to carry it forward. She and her family decided against selling to a large conglomerate. “Even if the quality remained the same, the soul would not have been the same as if David had been alive and operating it,” Cody explained. David’s family wanted the winery to operate in the image and likeness of David’s original vision but they also wanted it to be financially secure for the future, Cody added.

After studying various options, in 2022 the family gifted the winery, the brand, and the property to Hillsdale College in Michigan. David had supported the college during his life and while this type of arrangement was the first of its kind for Hillsdale, it made sense for both entities. As its new erudite and financial steward, Hillsdale leaves the day-to-day operation of the winery and all decisions in that regard to Cody and his team in California. The future will unfold with possibilities of academic collaboration including Hillsdale students completing internships at the winery and students receiving scholarships from winery proceeds. Both results are worthy of a toast!

Michigan has a rich heritage in agriculture and agricultural education with Michigan State University in Lansing internationally known for its agricultural research and extension programs, Cody pointed out.

2024 and Beyond

Cody joined David Bruce Winery one year ago as general manager. Born and raised in the Midwest and a Hillsdale College alum, Cody moved to California 15 years ago to explore a wine industry career with an historical twist. While at Hillsdale, he learned about the California wine industry from his roommate who was from Napa Valley and whose uncle grew grapes there. Both history majors, he and his roommate tossed around ideas for a California wine business that tapped into their passion for history. But first Cody had another idea for a career.

“I wanted to be a writer and photojournalist for National Geographic. When that didn’t work out, I moved West and found the wine industry,” he said. “I’m a fifth century B.C. Athens guy. It was not very common table talk for 22 year olds when I graduated.”

He and his roommate formed a wine company to sell wine focused on an historical theme or enduring idea. To make ends meet, he took a job at a winery working in the cellar, “cellar ratting” as it is known in the industry. For two years, he toiled at that entry level job but it was difficult to make ends meet.

“At the beginning, wine was a conduit to talk about my appreciation for history and then once I jumped into the cellar, I got bit by the wine bug, really hard,” Cody said. He had been bitten by the same bug David Bruce had.

Realizing that working in sales in any industry had lucrative potential, he began working for the Central Valley Builders Supply Company selling viticultural supplies to grape growers and vineyard management companies in Napa and Sonoma. He became well versed in underground irrigation lines and waterflow management techniques while attending certification courses organized through his company. “That was a lot of fun and such an eye opening experience,” Cody said.

The wine bug he caught firmly took hold. “I started being more of a wine guy instead of a history guy. I started caring more about what was in the bottle than on the bottle,” he said. At the center of that universe are grapes. As he worked in the industry, a message from his mentors came through loud and clear. “You can do whatever you want in the cellar but if you don’t start with quality grapes, you’re not going to make quality wine. I think that’s so true. It’s definitely a mantra that David Bruce had and I very much subscribe to that,” he said.

In 2022, Cody was named to the David Bruce Winery Board of Directors and in 2024, was named the winery’s general manager. He said his job responsibilities include everything from overseeing production, the tasting room, sales and marketing, forecasting, and tracking financial data to ensure capital improvements needed are aligned with the budget. “I am picking up where David left off. He was the heart and soul of this winery. I could never fill those shoes fully of course but we’re trying to upgrade our systems, whether it be software or financial or otherwise,” Cody said. “I keep everything running and the lights on.”

He is realistic about the challenges facing all wineries today as the wine industry is at a 40 to 50 year low in consumption as younger generations prefer beer, spirits and seltzers. “It’s the worst that we’ve ever seen it, certainly in my 15 years and in all of my mentors 40 plus years of industry experience,” Cody said. And not just alcohol preferences are determining consumption behaviors.

New healthy lifestyle messages from institutions are hoisting red flags about drinking alcohol. “When my parents were growing up, a glass of wine at night was good for your heart,” Cody said. “There are a lot of market forces that are driving sales down. But that said, there are some categories in the wine industry that are winning – premium beverages with a story, a rich heritage and legacy,” he said.

David Bruce wines fall into that category but they have not been immune from the downturn. “We’re insulated but we’re feeling it; I’ll be honest. But that said, people still come up to the mountain to hang out with us and to learn about what we’re doing. People still care about the way we are farming and the product we are making and how we’re making it. David’s original vision still holds weight and matters to people. I think we are well positioned to weather the storm,” he said.

With a production of 8,000 cases per year, their wines are offered to the public through their Wine Club, in person purchases at their Tasting Room, and as Cody implements a sales and marketing plan, through a national retail distribution network that he is revitalizing.

Organized by tiers, David Bruce Estate wines (chardonnay and pinot noir) are made from grapes grown on 17 acres of their vineyard at the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the original 45 acres David purchased in the early 1960s.

The David Bruce Appellation Select Series includes wine made from grapes (chardonnay and pinot noir) sourced throughout northern and central California. Their California Central Coast Series offers wine made from grapes grown in that region.

New Varietals

To carry on David’s legacy, Cody said the winery has new varietals on the horizon. “I thought about how to honor David’s legacy, his desire for innovation and his insatiable appetite for trying new things, what works and what doesn’t, and having fun with both. In that spirit, I are very excited and delighted to change up the way that we bottle a little bit,” Cody said.

They will be picking grapes more in the 1990s style of David Bruce wines and will be doing clonal bottling and vineyard designated varietals. “We’re really excited for our Wine Club members and people to experience the varying degrees to which we can make and affect wine up here,” he said.

A team of five full time vineyard and cellar personnel do all of the farming with Mitri leading the way. “Mitri has been farming the Santa Cruz Mountains for about 30 years now. He knows what to do in the vineyard more than anyone I’ve met. It’s a delight to work with him and learn from him,” Cody said.

While challenges remain, remembering one of David’s many attributes is a daily morale booster for the team. “David was a very happy man. It’s such an historical legacy that we feel proud to do right. All of the things we’re doing will be done in the image of the David Bruce people might know or will be introduced to. It’s an honor to be part of this institution that’s existed for 61 years. Hopefully, we can do right by it and give it another 61 years,” Cody said.

It’s likely someone who opens a bottle of David Bruce pinot noir in the future will be inspired as David was so many years ago when the wine’s aroma filled the air and struck his soul.

Virtual Wine Tasting for Chaîne Members

The David Bruce Winery will conduct a Virtual Tasting Webinar for Chaîne members at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. The webinar will feature the following David Bruce wines:

• 2021 Estate Chardonnay (SRP: $49)
• 2021 Estate Pinot Noir (SRP: $65)
• 2022 Russian River Pinot Noir (SRP: $49)

Cody Ewers and Mitri Favarashi, Viticulturalist will discuss Bruce Winery’s farming philosophy, the uniqueness of Santa Cruz Mountains and why it is a wonderful place to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. They will also discuss the 61 year old history of our winery, including our inclusion in the world-famous 1976 Judgement of Paris. Finally, they will talk through the wines we taste, discuss the growing conditions for those vintages and the vinification processes we employ to make such amazing wines!

Deadline for members to order in time for delivery will be 11/6. Pairing bundles will be offered as an add-on. Watch for more information and registration in the upcoming days.

Links

David Bruce Winery
Napa Valley Vintners

June 20, 2025 – When Ana Keller, winemaker and Estate Director of Keller Estate, meets with Theresa Heredia, Keller Estate’s consultant winemaker, their conversation can quickly elevate to a level few others can understand. Both women have biochemistry degrees. They can correctly combine the letters, C, H and O, a few numbers, and an arrow to write the chemical equation for what is happening inside of Ana’s French oak barrels at her family’s winery in the Petaluma Gap in California. Understanding that chemistry at a molecular level helps Ana and Theresa manage the fermentation process to achieve the desired outcome – exquisite Keller Estate chardonnay, pinot noir and syrah. “I’ve known Theresa for more than 20 years. I get to geek out and learn a lot from that, particularly over a glass or two of wine,” Ana, Chaîne Professionnel du Vin member, said to Chaîne during an April 7 telephone interview.

Ana is new to having responsibility for winemaking at her family’s vineyards and winery but not new to its operation. Arturo and Deborah Keller, her father and stepmother, planted their first 13 acres of chardonnay grapes in 1989 on the lower elevation of a hill in the Petaluma Gap. “This is a region mainly guided by wind. Basically, from March through December, it’s just windy every afternoon out here,” Ana said. For those 10 months, wind speeds are consistently up to eight miles per hour in the afternoon. As her parents planted their vines, they wondered if those climatic conditions would be beneficial or detrimental to grapes. They had to wait a few years but once they had the answer in 1993, there was no looking back. Grapes growing on vines in their La Cruz vineyard turned into fine wine and their dream come true.

“Everybody was pleasantly surprised we could harvest the beautiful chardonnay. We started selling our first grapes to Rombauer Vineyards. It became clear we could grow grapes and sell them to a high end Napa chardonnay producer. It was a really good start. So we planted a few acres of pinot noir grapes,” she said.

Conquering chemistry, biochemistry and calculus classes among many others, after graduation, Ana joined the family business in the late 1990s. “I studied biochemistry because I love plants. Plants are my passion. And everything I love about plants happens here.” It was a perfect fit. She immediately began thinking beyond supplying other wineries with grapes grown in their vineyard.

She was fortunate early on to meet David Ramey at a symposium in Sacramento. She asked him to evaluate their grapes to assess their potential to make their own wine. After visiting their vineyards and tasting their grapes, Dave told Ana they definitely had what it takes to produce beautiful wine.

With that confirmation, Keller Estate released their first vintage, a production of 1,000 cases of chardonnay, in 2000. “You don’t build a winery overnight. It takes years. We’re very happy this is our 25^th harvest in 2025. We’re celebrating a quarter of a century year-long, celebrating our Mexican heritage. It’s going to be a fun year,” Ana said. On Saturday, June 21, Keller Estate will host a Salsa Dance party, one of their flagship anniversary events this year.

Their celebration includes 25 years of staying true to their mission to make wine solely from fruit grown on their property. “We are 100 percent estate grown,” Ana said.

For most of those 25 years, Keller Estate employed a winemaker. Ana’s role centered on business and vineyard management with a focus on sales and marketing. That job included watching over 100 sheep they have on the property to mow grass and fertilize soil. “In looking at how to grow better grapes we began farming organically a few years ago,” Ana said. Sheep move around the property seasonally. “They go and mow and fertilize at the same time. When not in the vineyard because they would eat the grapes, they mow elsewhere, which is good for fire control. I can’t stress how important the sheep are for the health of the vineyard. They are part of our fire prevention team.” With little brush, Keller Estate has been spared damage from rapidly spreading wildfires.

In addition to sheep, Ana said they installed owl boxes to provide habitat for the nocturnal animal that eats gophers, a threat to vines. And bees on the property support pollination. It’s all a balance of nature, Ana explained.

Soon after Ana came on board, her scientific curiosity prompted her to wonder if grapes would flourish at the top of the hill. While the bottom portion of the hill has clay soil and is somewhat sheltered from the wind, the top has different soil and is more exposed to wind. In 2000, they planted their El Coro vineyard at the top of the hill with pinot noir grapes. With some pinot noir also at the lower elevation, they now offer two very distinct pinot noir wines with a bright future for both varietals as they manage their vineyards. “The more we learn about the area, the more we are able to farm carefully and make sure we take care of them so they can age as gracefully as possible,” Ana said.

Last year the family decided to have Ana take a more active role in the winemaking process as their chief winemaker. “My biochemistry degree helps us actually produce the wine. It was a convenient career to have and fast tracked my learning curve. I understood what fermentation was. I understood what the dangers of a bad fermentation could be. I understood sanitation. The biggest thing in winemaking is you are moving the fermentation in the way you want it to go,” Ana said.

Any deep dive into a new job or subject always brings surprises. “What has been most surprising to me are the little details. There’s a lot of moments in the process where I understand the big picture and big steps. But with all of the fine tuning and attention to details that you can bring to winemaking as you move from the vineyard to the sorting table to the winery to the tanks and then to the bottle, there are extra steps where you can take care of making even better wine. It’s been really interesting to see how you can fine tune and make wine even shine more.”

As an estate winery, it’s a nature and nurture combination that holds the formula for Keller Estate’s success. “Vineyard trumps winemaker,” Ana succinctly said.

The important natural element in the Petaluma Gap is the wind. “From wind to wine,” Ana and her fellow local vintners like to say. She explained the wind creates a unique growing condition. With long, cool days, wind constantly beats on grape skins causing thick skins to develop, physically thick but also chemically rich in tannins and the grape’s flavor compounds. The inside of a grape is simply water, acid and sugar, she said. The vines respond to the windy conditions and geography with slow maturation and slow ripening that preserves the balance and acidity of the grape.

Back to basic science, Ana explains a plant’s production of fruit is to ensure the plant’s survival for future generations. If plants have enough water, sunshine and nutrients, plants can be lazy. For winemakers, plants need to be a little stressed to support optimal fruit yields.

Now with 35 acres under vine, Ana said they recently replanted 18 acres of the original vineyard her parents began planting in 1989 at the bottom of the hill. “Early on we planted with different knowledge. So we changed the orientation and changed clones because we know better now,” Ana said. In about three to four years, they are looking forward to bountiful fruit with beautiful acidity and beautiful minerality so characteristic of wine produced from grapes grown in the Petaluma Gap.

Petaluma Gap AVA

In 2014, grape growers and vintners in the Petaluma Gap came together as the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance to discuss their unique region and the common elements to all of their wine because of the terroir. They concluded the Petaluma Gap should be designated as a formal American Viticultural Area, an AVA. Thus began a four-year process of applying to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in Washington, D.C. for that distinction. Ana said they formed a great team of growers, vintners, an environmental engineer, and an historian to write and submit the application. About 10 wineries collaborated on the application.

According to the AVA federal government website, an AVA “is a specific type of appellation of origin used on wine labels. An AVA is a delimited grape-growing region with specific geographic or climatic features that distinguish it from the surrounding regions and affect how grapes are grown.”

In their application, Ana’s group emphasized the Petaluma Gap unique wind pattern as their specific climatic condition that warranted the AVA designation. They also knew the government wanted the AVA to make sense on a map and also to consumers. Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, north of San Francisco, so they had the geography base covered. In 2018, the government approved their application, one of the fastest ever to be granted. Their application did not receive any objections so it moved forward without delay. “We were lucky and smart we presented the AVA the way we did,” Ana said.

As of 2024, there were 276 established AVAs in the United States with 154 of the 276 in California, according to the federal government.

Although some people don’t want more AVAs approved, Ana said in the end, it’s helpful to growers, vintners, sommeliers, trade and media, and especially to consumers who are then able to compare wines within the AVA and know what to expect because of the unique features of the region.

Glancy Wine Education Foundation

Ana is president of the Glancy Wine Education Foundation (GWEF), a nonprofit organization founded in 2020 with a mission “to assist wine and hospitality professionals in furthering their career goals.” According to their website, over the past four years the foundation has awarded more than 200 scholarships, totaling more than $300,000, primarily to minority and underserved professionals working in wine and hospitality.

The Board of Directors evaluates applications with key criteria of financial hardship, economic need, work experience, and educational and career goals guiding the selection process. Scholarships are awarded year-round on a monthly basis. Recipients in the wine industry can take courses at the San Francisco Wine School, The American Wine School, or the International Wine Center.

In 2024, GWEF received a generous sponsorship from the Chaîne Foundation to support their vital effort in the industry. “We are really grateful to Chaîne for that donation. It has really helped,” Ana said.

As Ana works to produce exquisite wine and support the future of the wine industry, she has a window into the next generation of wine drinkers. “They love to learn. They love to understand what’s going on. They love experiences,” Ana said. The wine tasting experience is much different today than it was in the past. Ana said their wine tastings have become family friendly and pet friendly as young families like to bring their children and pets when they travel. “They live very differently than other generations,” she added.

Keller Estate in 2025

Now with a production of 3,000 cases per year, 40 percent of Keller Estate wine is chardonnay, 40 percent is pinot noir, and 20 percent is syrah. And since the region’s AVA designation, about 30 to 40 wineries participate in Petaluma Gap wine festivals where Ana will bring one of their older vintages to see how it is holding up. Even though they are a small winery, Keller Estate is one of the largest and oldest located in the Petaluma Gap. At one festival, she brought a Keller Estate 2004 vintage. “It gives a lot of pedigree to the region,” Ana said.

And with more interest in nonalcoholic options, Keller Estate produces Verjus, which is made from young pinot noir grapes grown on the property.

According to their website, Verjus is a tasty balance of sweetness and acidity making it a perfect aperitif with sparkling water or on its own. For their nonalcoholic Keller Spritz recipe, made with Verjus, tonic, and soda water, visit Keller Estate. 

Ana has been at the vortex of nurturing that Petaluma Gap pedigree. There’s not a biochemical equation for that contribution and dedication to her family’s estate winery, to the region, and to the broader wine industry – just simply defined by heart and hard work!

Check back for photos from Keller Estate’s Salsa Dance Party on Saturday as they celebrate their 25^th vintage!

Featured image above: Ana Keller, biochemist and Keller Estate winemaker. (Photo: Courtesy of Keller Estate) 

Links

• Keller Estate
• Glancy Wine Education Foundation
• Theresa Heredia – Heredia Wine Consulting
• Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance
• American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)
• Cuvée Spotlight: David Ramey

Feb. 21, 2025 – The Institute of Masters of Wine was founded in 1955 in the United Kingdom by the six Masters of Wine (MW) who passed the rigorous, inaugural exam two years before. Seventy years later, there are 421 Masters of Wine across 30 countries. Amy Christine, co-owner of the Holus-Bolus and The Joy Fantastic labels with her husband, Peter Hunken, in Los Olivos, California, is one of those elite professionals. But a career in wine was the furthest thing from her mind after graduating from Vanderbilt University with a plan to become an actress. Moving to Los Angeles in 2001, as many aspiring actors do to pay the bills, she took a job as a sommelier. “I’m a bit of a nerd. While I’m doing this acting thing maybe I’ll also study to become a Master of Wine,” Amy said to Chaîne during a Feb. 6 telephone interview.

Amy learned about MW certification while working as a daytime bartender at a fine dining restaurant in Michigan after graduating from Vanderbilt. It was a side gig to her nighttime job acting in a play at Jeff Daniels’ Purple Rose Theater in downtown Chelsea. Commuting between her home, the restaurant and the theater in three different cities, Amy focused on creating an impressive resume for her goal to one day star in her own Hollywood sitcom.

The restaurant’s sommelier suggested she read a few books to introduce her to wine. She was definitely starting from scratch. Growing up in Georgia in a family that did not drink wine, she had no base level knowledge of the ancient beverage. “My family is not a wine family. We’re country people. My mom drinks lite beer and amaretto and coke. I somehow went off on this high brow, snooty life style. It’s very, very different from how I grew up,” Amy said. To her dismay, except for one cousin, her family still doesn’t drink wine. “It’s kind of a bummer. My husband and I have been making wine for 20 years. I would really like to share that with them. But it’s fine.”

The sommelier at the Michigan restaurant recommended she read The Oxford Companion to Wine, edited by Jancis Robinson, and Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World, among others. “I would just sit behind the bar and read these books,” she said. As a result, she became aware of the Master of Wine certification and so enrolled in the first level wine course offered by The Court of Master Sommeliers.

In fall 2001, she was ready to take the theatrical leap to Hollywood. Securing a job as a floor sommelier at the highly acclaimed A.O.C. Wine Bar to support herself, she had time to go to auditions and then added a second job selling wine during the day to make ends meet.

Holus-Bolus Label

In 2004, she met Peter Hunken, then the assistant winemaker at Stolpman Vineyards in Los Olivos. With love and buds blooming, within one year they began making wine under their own Holus-Bolus label with grapes they purchased from other growers. Stolpman offered them use of their space and equipment at no cost. “I feel really grateful for Stolpman because they gave us the opportunity to save some money and sell some wine before we had to pay rent. Without them, we would not be here,” Amy said.

Amy left A.O.C. and went to work full time for Veritas Imports, a California company specializing in importing wine from Burgundy and Bordeaux. Now immersed in the wine industry and her own barrels of juice fermenting and aging at Stolpman, she harkened back to her days reading wine books behind the bar in Michigan. In 2006, she decided it was time to go for the brass ring of MW certification.

Master of Wine Certification

“I applied blindly. I had no idea it was going to take over my life completely. I thought it would just be something fun to do. Fun is not the word I would use to describe it in the end,” she wryly yet affectionately said.

When Amy applied to sit for the tests, she did not have completed coursework from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), which is a requirement today. In addition, Amy said in 2006, there were not as many people applying. “It wasn’t well known the way it was in England. It wasn’t very popular in America.”

There are three facets to MW certification: theoretical knowledge, practical knowledge and a research paper, called a dissertation when Amy sat for the tests. Now it’s called a research paper. There are no shortcuts with a minimum of three years required to earn certification. Amy’s journey lasted seven years.

Amy sat for the tests at Opus One Winery, founded in 1980 in Napa through the partnership of Baron Philippe de Rothschild and Robert Mondavi. She passed the theoretical portion on her first try in 2009 but did not pass the practical blind tastings, 36 wines over three days. “It’s a beast. There is between an eight percent and 15 percent pass rate,” she said.

The third time was the charm for her so in 2011, she proceeded to the third and final stage. She spent the next two years researching and writing her dissertation: “The Decline of Varietally Labeled U.S. Syrah: A Comparative Approach for Determining the Perceptions and Preferences of American Consumers for U.S. Syrah.”

Amy summarizes her research as follows:

“Essentially, why was the wholesale market (retail and restaurant buyers) telling me that consumers were not buying Syrah? When I surveyed these buyers their response was that consumers did not like Syrah and/or there were too many different styles of Syrah being produced and consumers were confused. It turned out that they were wrong. After two years of work and $12,000 (for hiring a company to do a true consumer survey) the answer was that consumers simply did not know that Syrah exists. They had no awareness of it, especially when faced with a wine shelf that offered them Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir. They would pick the latter just because they had tasted it previous or they had awareness of it.”

Dissertations were, and research papers today are, blindly graded so she did not have to defend it in front of a committee. But after reviewing it, the judges referred her paper for additional research, which added one year to the process. Amy said she shed a lot of tears when she learned it would be another year of work. In 2013, the glorious end came when she officially received her MW certification. Today of the 421 Masters of Wine in the world, 60 are in the United States. Of those 60, 24 are women.

This professional cohort of 24 women naturally became friends because of their shared knowledge and experiences as expert winemakers, distributors, or wine educators. “We all know each other. We’re all very connected. All of us have each other’s back all of the time,” Amy said. “The most wonderful thing coming out of my Master of Wine certification is my personal relationships with the other women.”

In 2008, Peter left Stolpman to devote all of his time to their Holus-Bolus wine. Amy kept her job in Los Angeles.

Two years before her MW certification, in 2011, she left Veritas and went to work for Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, a wine importer, distributor and retailer based in Berkeley, California. She left in 2022 to devote all of her time to their vineyard and wine labels.

The Joy Fantastic – Vineyard and Label

Peter’s dream had always been to own his vineyard. In 2014, they found a five-acre parcel of land, a steep slope on the western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, and planted 13,000 vines. They harvested their first crop in 2016 and launched their new label – The Joy Fantastic, which is also the name of their vineyard. Today they grow one acre of chardonnay grapes; 2.5 acres of pinot noir; one acre of syrah; and one-half acre of Gamay.

Learning by doing took on an entirely new meaning to Amy and Peter the first year. With a commitment to organic farming and hoes in hands, they weeded the entire vineyard themselves. They started at the bottom of the steep slope. Days turned into weeks and they were still weeding.

“By the time we finished the chardonnay at the top, we looked down where the pinot noir was and it was all overgrown. We had to start right back over,” Amy said. They immediately assessed the situation. “This was not a good use of our time. This was not sustainable. We only weeded the whole vineyard once.”

But she fondly reflects on the experience.

“We would end the day getting into the car so exhausted but happy because we had been in nature with plants all day,” she said. And more important, she was with her best friend and husband. “It was kind of joyful and kind of fantastic that we had this opportunity to do this.”

Amy is a die-hard fan of Prince who released an album in 1999 – Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. Voilà, they had their name for their vineyard and label – The Joy Fantastic. Only grapes grown in their vineyard are used for that label.

Because of Amy’s prestigious MW certification, after 2013, they were able to sell their wine to European markets in Sweden, Denmark, France and the United Kingdom.

In 2019, they opened a tasting room. Producing about 2,000 cases per year, about 70 percent is sold through the tasting room and their Wine Club with the remaining 30 percent sold to the wholesale market. Their Gamay varietal is the most popular wine in the tasting room. To this day, outside of hiring crews to weed the vineyard and prune the vines, Amy and Peter handle all facets of the operation with one part-time employee. Amy is the marketing team.

She said they stay focused on making the best wine they can to filter out news of declining wine sales. Their sales were even with last year so they have not been affected by the downturn and were fortunately spared any damage from recent wildfires. Amy recommends people who decide to drink less wine spend more on the wine they do drink to support boutique wineries making wine by hand.

“When I lay awake at night and start to have a panic attack about the future, I just have to believe we make the best wine we can. Customers will find us,” she said. “Drink less, spend more.”

Amy served as a judge at Chaîne’s 2024 National Jeunes Sommelier Competition in Santa Barbara where she also conducted a webinar, and in August 2024, she held a blind tasting for Chaîne members. She invites Chaîne members to visit their tasting room in Los Olivos where guests will find a restrained quality to their wine as she and Peter want their wines to have a savory characteristic. “It’s easy to make fruity, high alcohol wines and leave it on the vine until it’s close to being a raisin and then make wine out of it. We pick on the earlier side. We want to find acidity in our wines. Acidity is an element of quality because it is a refreshment factor. It makes you want to take another sip. That’s important to me,” she said. She does not call their wines Burgundian style but instead, inspired by processes used by Burgundy vintners.

To young people finding their way in life, Amy’s story speaks for itself with so many life lessons for everyone. She never pictured herself doing anything other than acting. What if she had not been open to reading those wine books behind the bar in Michigan? Sometimes a secondary interest develops into a primary, fulfilling career. “Listen to the things around you. Keep your mind open. Rarely it’s the case that the only thing that can make me happy is X, Y or Z,” Amy advised.

Amy found happiness and joy pursuing erudite and earthy endeavors within the magical world of wine and by simply weeding five acres of vines with her best friend, husband and fellow vintner. That story is far superior to any plot Tinseltown could ever hope to create!

Featured image above: Peter and Amy in their tasting room. (Photo: Courtesy of Amy Christine)

Links
Holus-Bolus and The Joy Fantastic
The Institute of Masters of Wine
The Court of Master Sommeliers
Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET)