VINTNERS & BREWERS

B.R. Cohn Winery
Glen Ellen, CA

B.R. Cohn Winery is located in the heart of the Sonoma Valley. This small family operated winery is surrounded by the 90-acre Olive Hill Estate Vineyards, where soils warmed by underground natural hot springs and gentle ocean breezes create a unique microclimate resulting in ideal growing conditions for Cabernet Sauvignon. B.R. Cohn also produces Chardonnay from the Carneros Region and Merlot from Sonoma Valley.

Bruce Cohn, founder and proprietor of B.R. Cohn Winery, has embraced a lifelong passion for Northern California’s wine country and its bounty. An equally strong passion for music led to a parallel career in the music industry as the manager for one of rock ‘n’ roll’s perennially favorite American bands, The Doobie Brothers. His down-to-earth attitude, focus and dedication have made both careers flourishing successes to this day.

B.R. Cohn Winery plays host to a variety of events throughout the year. Each fall, wine lovers and music fans alike flock to the B.R. Cohn Winery Fall Music Festival and Golf Tournament, with proceeds benefiting the Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation and other youth charity organizations. B.R. Cohn also hosts wine country weddings, corporate events and well as VIP Tour & Tastings and will soon be home to a culinary center where guest chefs will host cooking classes and demonstrations to food-loving B.R. Cohn fans, integrating B.R. Cohn olive oils and vinegars into food preparations, as well as pairing meals with B.R. Cohn wines.

Bruce Cohn is happy that wine enthusiasts travel from around the world to seek out the vineyard, the wines and the atmosphere. Since founding the winery, Bruce’s focus has been to create wines that emphasize balance, elegance and consistent high quality from vintage to vintage.
www.brcohn.com

M. Chapoutier
Rhone Valley, France

Since 1808, Maison M.Chapoutier has cultivated its vineyards with the greatest respect for nature and terrior. Fac et Spera, or “Act and Hope” is its coat of arms and family motto and guides all winemaking.

Today, fifth generation Michel Chapoutier is one of the most highly regarded winemakers in France. Since taking over his family winery in 1990 at age 26, Michel Chapoutier has transformed the winery and is now the leading Rhône Valley wine producer. A visionary, Michel continually looks to improve upon modern and traditional winemaking practices and works tirelessly to perfect the art of wine with each vintage. A pioneer of biodynamic winemaking in the Rhône Valley, he insists on meticulous vineyard management in harmony with the earth, extremely low yields, slow extended maceration, wild yeast usage, warmer fermentation techniques, and no fining or filtration. With these practices, the wines show full expression of the soil, the grape variety and the vintage.

www.chapoutier.com

Chateau de Beaucastel
Rhone Valley, France

In the mid-16th century, the notable Beaucastel family lived in the village of Courthézon, easily located today on a good southern Rhône map. Over the centuries, ownership changed and the Beaucastel’s vineyards were decimated by phylloxera in the late-19th century. Early in the 20th century, Pierre Tramier purchased the property and replanted it. Beaucastel, as the land had begun to be called, passed to his son-in-law Pierre Perrin and then to Jacques Perrin, the legendary man who built the legacy of today’s Perrin & Fils.

It was expanded by his sons Jean-Pierre and François, who’ve been unafraid to pass the torch to the fifth Perrin generation - Jean-Pierre’s three sons—Marc, Pierre and Thomas. All of them wear several

hats in the overall operation. Chateau de Beaucastel is the Perrin appellation’s flagship domaine, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Today, the Perrin’s own a rare (for Châteauneuf) contiguous parcel of 197 acres, with an additional 74 acres in Côtes du Rhône. The Perrins farm their vineyards organically and rotate parcels through fallow periods of six years at a time.

Beaucastel annually produces around 16,500 cases of red and white Châteauneuf, with luxury cuvées of each. Beaucastel is one of the few domaines whose whites are as well-known as its reds.

www.beaucastel.com

Constellation Brands was founded in 1945 by Marvin Sands as a small, family-owned wine company in Canandaigua, New York. Since that time, we have focused on building sustainable growth by staying true to the core values and small business philosophies that are the cornerstone of our inspiring heritage and foundation.Today, we are the world’s leading premium wine company, achieving success through an unmatched knowledge of wine consumers, storied brands that suit varied lives and tastes, and talented employees worldwide. With a broad portfolio of widely admired premium products across the wine, beer and spirits categories, Constellation’s brands include Robert Mondavi, Clos du Bois, Blackstone, Arbor Mist, Estancia, Ravenswood, Jackson Triggs, Kim Crawford, Corona Extra, Black Velvet Canadian Whisky and SVEDKA Vodka.

Domaine Serene
Dayton, OR

A passion and commitment to produce the world's best Pinot Noir led Grace & Ken Evenstad to Oregon in 1989. They founded Domaine Serene in the Dundee Hills located in the North Willamette Valley, where Oregon Pinot Noir began and where its heart remains. Domaine Serene owns 3 vineyard estates totaling 462 acres. 150 acres are planted exclusively to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the remaining property has been left in its natural state. Vineyards are dry farmed using sustainable, environmentally friendly farming practices for extremely low crop yields which produce consistently elegant, concentrated, award winning wines.

www.domaineserene.com

Elyse Winery
Napa Valley, CA

In 1983, Nancy and Ray Coursen arrived in California from Cape Cod to fulfill Ray’s dream of making wine and Nancy’s taste for adventure. After working harvest at Mt. Eden Winery in Saratoga, they moved to Napa Valley and became innkeepers for a bed &breakfast. Ray then spent formative time at Tonella Vineyard Management, where he gained philosophical perspective and practical knowledge working in the vineyards. Ray’s nine year tenure at Whitehall Lane Winery under the tutelage of Art Finkelstein first as a cellar worker and then as head winemaker honed his skills in the art of blending and was the inspiration for Ray’s winemaking style today.

In 1987, Ray & Nancy started Elyse Winery with 286 cases of Zinfandel from the Morisoli Vineyard, which is still a cornerstone vineyard source for the winery. After a decade of nomadic winemaking at various custom crush facilities, in 1997 they purchased a small winery and vineyard on Hoffman Lane, the home of Elyse Winery and tasting room.

Winemaking is cooking without a flame. Our winemaking philosophy at Elyse in Napa Valley is similar to the approach of a great chef who carefully prepares artisan grown ingredients to bring each layer of flavor to the table. Long term alliances with our growers form the cornerstone to our portfolio of vineyard driven wines that possess an unfaltering affinity for pairing with food.

www.elysewinery.com

FireFly Distillery
Wadmalaw Island, SC

It all started back in 2000 when Jim Irvin, a Vanderbilt grad, decided to make some wine on South Carolina’s Wadmalaw Island—about 30 miles south of Charleston. Jim was a one family show—planting the vines, harvesting the grapes, and selling the wine!    

Enter Southern gentleman number two, Scott Newitt, an LSU grad.  Scott was a manager at a local liquor distributor in 2003 when he and Jim crossed paths.

“You make some nice Southern wine,” Scott told Jim. “Now let’s make some Southern spirit.” Both men were very proud of their Southern roots and committed to making a product that was as unique as the South. Scott and Jim joined forces and vodka with a Southern accent was born.  Created in a small still on Wadmalaw Island, SC in 2008, Firefly became the world’s first hand-crafted sweet tea vodka. Firefly is distilled four times, infused with tea grown on a plantation five miles from the distillery and blended with real Louisiana sugar cane. Firefly has quickly become a consumer favorite and continues to “fly” off store shelves. Firefly—This ain’t your Grandma’s sweet tea!

www.fireflyvodka.com

Hirsch Vineyards
Sonoma, CA

Weingut Josef Leitz
Rheingau, Germany

His wines are like himself, a mixture of serious and playful, finesse and earthiness, open and robust but also earnest and commanding. They have a remarkable reconciliation of weight, solidity and buoyancy. They tend to run stony, as is the Rheingau type—when it’s true! And they are fastidiously specific in their site characteristics. The dry wines are better than most! Still, almost none of Johannes’ wines taste “sweet.” They have the coiled power of a tightly closed fist. They are intensely fragrant, as though they wished to convince you of something. They are the most exciting wines currently made in the Rheingau.

Weingut Josef Leitz

LIOCO is the result of a years-long conversation between Matt Licklider (a seasoned wine import specialist) and Kevin O'Connor (former wine director at Michelin Two-Star Spago-Beverly Hills) about whether California could produce a true "wine of origin." After gathering opinion on the subject from some of the world's great wine producers, we arrived at our conclusion: California can achieve a wine of origin, provided certain protocols are adhered to--both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

LIOCO is our namesake label. These offerings, driven by the availability of superlative fruit, may change year to year. The philosophy will not. While our favorite wines from Burgundy and southern France will serve as a guide, LIOCO will reflect as clearly as possible its native Californian roots. The focus is on vineyard-designate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as an old-vine blend of “under-dog” California varietals (including Carignan and Petite Sirah).

www.liocowine.com

Maker’s Mark Distillery
Loretto, KY

Miner Family Vineyards
Napa Valley, CA

Miner Family Vineyards is a dynamic family owned winery tucked into the eastern hills of the Oakville appellation, squarely within the heart of Napa Valley. Founded in 1998 by Dave & Emily Miner along with his folks Ed & Norma, Miner is defined first and foremost by a sensational portfolio of wines, wines consistently characterized by and committed to individualistic style and uncommon quality. Each wine is crafted in a style to encapsulate the distinctive elements and the indelible fingerprints of their respective vineyards. This combination of excellent vineyard sites, along with passionate and thoughtful winemaking, injects the necessary components for creating profoundly joyful wines.

www.minerwines.com

Mouton Noir Wines are unique and distinctive garage wines produced by Andre H. Mack. Founded in 2004, Mouton Noir Wines began producing wines for New York City restaurants for which Andre was the sommelier. In 2008 we released our first label, Mouton Noir Wines' Montgomery Place, which was made in our California warehouse.

Despite having a successful career with Citicorp Investment Services, André Mack decided to leave his “desk job” to pursue his passion for wine. While working as a sommelier in San Antonio, Mack discovered the joys of introducing guests to the little known vineyards that first attracted him to the business and “the instant gratification of a guest’s reaction.” While still in Texas, Mack was awarded the prestigious title of Best Young Sommelier in America by the highly regarded Chaine des Rotisseurs. This recognition propelled him into the opportunity to work as a sommelier at Thomas Keller’s world-renowned The French Laundry in Yountville, California. Mack went on to accept the position of Head Sommelier at Keller’s equally famed Per Se in New York City, where he managed a 1800 selection award-winning wine list and consulted with Chef Keller on menu and pairing development regularly. Winemaking has always been a dream of his and came to fruition when he set up shop under the moniker of Mouton Noir Wines. Throughout his career Mack has forged unique relationships with luminary growers and winemakers from around the planet. It is with this prestigious group that Mack currently creates his wines.

Mack has been featured in major publications, such as Food and Wine, Wine and Spirits Magazine, The New York Times, Women’s Health, Ebony, and Black Enterprise. Mr. Mack was honored in 2007 with The Network Journal’s 40-Under-Forty Achievement Award for his outstanding contributions to business. At 35 years old, Mack is a zealous wine educator who has been invited to host seminars as well as conduct panel discussions at numerous esteemed food and wine events. He enjoys sharing his fondness of wine with others.

www.moutonnoirwines.net

Nickel & Nickel
Oakville, CA

Nickel & Nickel is devoted exclusively to producing 100 percent varietal, single-vineyard wines that best express the distinctive personality of each vineyard. Based in Oakville, CA, the winery was established in 1997 by the partners of Far Niente on the 42-acre John C. Sullenger vineyard property. Nickel & Nickel produces vineyard-designated Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot, as well as Chardonnay, Syrah and Zinfandel from the Russian River Valley.

www.nickelandnickel.com

One of the first California winemakers to focus on single-vineyard wines, Paul Hobbs took the challenge one step further by dedicating himself to crafting unfiltered and unfined wines, fermented with native yeasts. His vision has resulted in exciting, structured wines that are rooted in classic old world techniques and, at the same time, are distinctly Californian in their expression. And, he continues to be a leader of Argentina’s ongoing winemaking revolution. Not bad for a farm boy from upstate New York.

www.paulhobbs.com

Rivers-Marie
Occidental, CA

Thomas Rivers Brown is one of the most exciting young talents in Napa Valley. Born in Sumter, South Carolina, Thomas developed an interest in wine while at the University of Virginia. After moving to California in 1996, he expanded his knowledge of wines from all the world's great regions while working at All Seasons Wine Shop in Calistoga. Beginning at Turley Wine Cellars, Thomas worked his way up from assistant winemaker to consulting winemaker for several small labels in 2000.  He began consulting full-time with the harvest of 2001.  He currently works on 12 projects including Schrader, Outpost, Maybach and his own Rivers-Marie.

www.riversmarie.com

Sandhi
Santa Barbara, CA

Sandhi, an ancient Sanskrit word meaning alliance or collaboration, reflects the partnership of its creators. Founded in 2010 by Rajat Parr, the wine director for Mina Group restaurants, Charles Banks, the former owner of Jonata Wines and Screaming Eagle, and esteemed winemaker Sashi Moorman, Sandhi Wines is a boutique California winery focusing on select Santa Barbara County vineyards.

Sandhi represents a union essential to the production of wine: the collaboration between man, earth, and vine. The willing participation of all three elements is necessary to make great wine, and the winegrower must make this collaboration rich and nourishing for all involved. An understanding of these joint efforts informs Sandhi's exploration of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines throughout the Santa Barbara County terroir.

The individual vineyards from which these grapes originate–some legendary, some new–have been exhaustively vetted for character, personality, and balance. Wines exhibiting extreme ripeness, alcohol, oak, and other discordant exaggerations cannot truly express a specific vineyards terroir. Employing the wisdom and talents of people who know the vineyards, Sandhi is dedicated to making wines of finesse, minerality, acidity, structure and balance. Wine achieves power and beauty through the seamless integration of these qualities, and this is the inspiration for Sandhi.

www.sandhiwines.com

Siduri
Santa Rosa, CA

Siduri is named for the Babylonian Goddess of wine, who, in Babylonian mythology, held the wine of eternal life. Siduri is also the realization of a dream that Adam and Dianna Lee shared since they met, 15 years ago, in their native Texas, and realized a mutual love of Pinot Noir.

Buoyed by the belief that they could become winemakers and make their own Pinot Noir, they left theirr families and jobs in Texas and moved to California’s Sonoma wine country where they spent several years working at small, family owned wineries, using any and all free time to learn everything they could about growing grapes and making wine.

In 1994 they launched Siduri wines with their first release, which met with great critical success and led them to search for additional high quality Pinot Noir grapes. Today, Siduri produces single vineyard Pinot Noir from 27 different vineyards stretching from Santa Barbara north to Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

For Siduri, the beauty of making their own wines is the total freedom to do it their way, without compromise.They believe in minimal intervention winemaking that promotes, rather than overshadows the work they do in the vineyard.

Most importantly, they believe that wine should be a pleasure to drink. If you don't like the way a wine tastes, what’s the point? Siduri Pinot Noirs are made to be enjoyed with good friends and good food.

www.siduri.com

Terry Theise Estate Selections
The Man, the Myth, the Legend! If it is true that the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom, Terry Theise has been there and back. A brief perusal of his writing makes it quickly apparent that the man has no reservations about conveying his thoughts and feelings on wine, life, sex, philosophy and general cosmology. In Terry's world, it's all inter-related. So, without further ado, we encourage you to jump headlong into the wonderful world of Terry Theise's German, Austrian and Champagne Estate Selections. Prepare yourself for a psychotropic experience.

Read more about the man, the myth, the legend

Thomas Creek Brewery
Greenville, SC

Thomas Creek Brewery is situated in the heart of Upstate, SC, creating an array of micro-brewed ales, lagers and bocks. Brewer Tom Davis’ goal is to make the finest hand crafted beers and to please every beer lover that tries a Thomas Creek brew. Award-winning Thomas Creek beers are made using only the finest American barley, hops and yeast. Hand crafted beer since 1998 and family owned and operated, Thomas Creek is distributed throughout South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, winning the hearts and taste buds of beer lovers across the Southeast.

www.thomascreekbeer.com

Vineyard Brands was founded by Robert Haas in 1971, and a remodeled barn on the Haas family farm served as headquarters from the inception of the company until May of 1997.

Today, Vineyard Brands represents over 25 growers of estate-bottled wines in Burgundy, Chablis, the Rhône, Loire Valley, Alsace and Southern France as well as some of the best wines available from Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Germany and Italy.

All wines are personally selected by Jerry Neff and Daniel Haas, Robert’s son, who continues the tradition of a close family relationship with the French proprietors and makes a number of trips to taste and select wines during the year. All wines are tasted by the management staff before a decision on representation is made. The result of this stringent selection is best illustrated in the following quote from The Wine Advocate:

www.vineyardbrands.com

Zepaltas
Santa Rosa, CA

Ryan Zepaltas moved from his native state of Wisconsin, in 1998, to California. Mainly to be a skateboard bum and knwoing very little about wine. His first "wine job" as a cellar hand at La Crema Winery taught him the basics of winemaking. After a pair of vintages at La Crema, Ryan headed to New Zealand to work for Villa Maria. It was during his third vintage that Ryan realized winemaking was his passion. He then headed back to the Russian River Valley, and started working for Adam & Dianna Lee of Siduri Wines & Novy Family Winery where he still works as the Assistant Winemaker. In 2004 Ryan purchased his first grapes and hit the ground running, with his own "little project." In fall 2007, Zepaltas was named one of the “Hot New Dozen of California Pinot Noir” by the Wine Spectator and has built a cult following for his cool climate Pinot Noir, Syrah & Chardonnays.

www.zepaltaswines.com