Meet Our Winemaker

Bertus van Zyl

The man, the myth, the legend. If you didn't already know, we have the coolest cat in town runnin' our winemaking. This dude cranks out some of the best juice in the Valley and his relentless dedication to his trade continues to inspire us year in and year out. Bertus is truly one-of-a-kind, maintaining relationships with the best growers across California and gaining access to the coolest grapes we didn't even know existed. His blends are a work of art and each year we look forward to tasting his insanely-addictive cool California wines. 

Bertus grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. Both of his parents loved wine tasting and he remembers running around vineyards and wineries from the time he was quite young. He attended a boarding school in Stellenbosch (a.k.a. South African wine country) and it was there that he took his very first wine appreciation course at the age of 14. He went on to study Viticulture and Enology at the University of Stellenbosch before taking the adventurous leap to the Napa Valley.

When he's not spending time tending to our barrels and blends in the cellar, he's on the road to one of the many vineyards we source from. Bertus has spent years tracking down the growers dedicated to maintaining the old vines, the underdogs and the lesser-known varietals across California. His search knows no bounds – we're pickin' clusters from Mendocino down to Santa Barbara, up to the Sierra Foothills and all the way out to the Sonoma Coast.

There's not much we can really say about Bertus that hasn't been said before. He's hands down one of the coolest people we've ever met and we can't wait to see what he's got in store for us next. 

Feb 25, 2020 at 8:32 AM Permalink