One of the biggest events ever to affect the prestige of California wines happened on May 24, 1976. Chateau Montetena chardonnay 1973 made by brilliant winemaker Mike (Miljenko) Grgich won first place in a blind tasting in Paris over nine French wines.

We are in the Edna Valley, north of Santa Barbara, and slightly south of Paso Robles. The Tolosa Winery is named for the friars of Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, who began the first vineyard in the area, and made wines of apparently good quality. After a walk around tour of the state-of-the-art Tolosa Winery and vines with notable, award-winning winemaker Larry Brooks, we settle in at the tasting room terrace for some wine talk and a few glasses.

David Vergari, keeper of the keys of success to the premium winemaking program at Thornton Winery in Temecula Wine Country in Southern California.   After years of experience working at wineries on three different continents and running his own winery, he set out to join a winery in Temecula in 2010 with a simple goal in mind: to craft hand-made wines of distinctive quality with the best grapes he can find, age those wines in premium oak barrels from coopers he respects, and then allow the wines to find their voice....

John Thornton and his family have successfully produced award-winning wine, while finding the combination for a successful business. I’ve seen many wineries and restaurants fail, not from lack of passion, but from lack of business reality. The Thornton’s have the ability to put it all together for a winning combination...

Rob Griffin, co-owner and head winemaker at Barnard Griffin winery in Richland, Washington, celebrated 33 years of Washington winemaking this spring; furthering his tenure as a Washington wine pioneer.  Beginning his Washington career at Preston Wine Cellars in 1977, Griffin is currently the longest practicing winemaker in Washington State. 

Winemaker Todd Graff traveled extensively working in wineries in Europe, Australia and California over the last twenty years, before he settled in as a winemaker for a Napa property less than 50 miles from his native Petaluma, California. Todd assumed the role as winemaker for Frank Family Vineyards in 2003...

Craig Becker is a founding member of Somerston Wine Co. As part-owner and General Manager, Becker oversees Somerston’s vineyards and winemaking, the tasting lounge and the ranch, and. Under Becker’s direction, all Somerston employees are given ownership over their roles in the project, allowing for an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit to prevail...

It is no mere coincidence that Eileen Crane, CEO and Winemaker of Domaine Carneros, is equally at home in the separate yet entwined worlds of wine and food. Eileen was raised with a keen appreciation for fine wine by her father, who first learned about wine as a soldier in France...

Brandon Staglin is the Marketing Communications Director for Staglin Family Vineyard and the International Mental Health Research Organization (IMHRO), the nonprofit my family founded. I serve as Webmaster for IMHRO, which enables me to share exciting news with the public about the discoveries made by the scientists we fund...