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MAY 13-16, 2021

EVENTS

ALL

Thu

Fri

Sat

Sun

At-A-Glance

Weekend Package

Immersion: Vineyard Exploration + Tasting

PRESENTED BY AMERICAN AGCREDIT

ROAD TO RHÔNE

Location: KIVELSTADT VINEYARD
Saturday, May 16, 2020
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

Road To Rhône
France’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône varietals such as Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre have long since been coveted by wine enthusiasts and vintners around the world. California winemakers have followed suit, making Rhône’s and Rhône-style blends a staple and cult classic. With similar growing conditions and versatility, Sonoma Valley’s Rhône-style wines rival that of Europe’s, today. Graceful and complex in character, world-class Rhône’s have been produced in Sonoma Valley for years, and they are here to stay.

FEATURING WINES FROM: Dane Cellars, Kivelstadt Cellars, Loxton Cellars, Schermeister Winery, and St. Francis Winery & Vineyards.

$125

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The Setting

KIVELSTADT VINEYARD

Kivelstadt Cellars was founded on a love of amazing California vineyards. After leaving a career in consulting in his twenties, founder Jordan Kivelstadt traveled the world making wine in California, Australia, Chile and Argentina. Jordan’s parents Tom & Nancy purchased Kivelstadt Family Vineyard in 2005, and Jordan began making wines from the property in 2007. Since then, three acres of the vineyard has been grafted to Pinot Noir, and five acres are being replanted after being lost in the 2017 fires. At this unique site, Signature Sonoma Valley guests will see a vineyard in every stage of life – mature (25-year-old Syrah block), grafted (5-year post graft pinot block) and three new blocks that were just planted.

Featured Panelists

Katie Madigan

Winemaker
ST. FRANCIS WINERY & VINEYARDS

A key member of St. Francis Winery’s production and winemaking team since 2002, Katie Madigan became a St. Francis Winemaker in 2011.

For Katie, winemaking is the perfect combination of science and creativity.  A chemistry major at UC Santa Barbara, she joined St. Francis as a harvest intern. After working long hours for four months, doing everything from lab work to vineyard visits, she was hooked. “I loved the fast pace and diversity of the job,” she says. “I didn’t want to leave at the end of every day.”

Two years later, Katie became a full-time lab tech at St. Francis and began studying Enology & Viticulture at UC Davis. Promoted to Assistant Winemaker in 2006, she focused on Chardonnay production and championed night picking of all Chardonnay fruit to preserve flavors, aromas, and acid levels.

Katie’s relentless pursuit to make wines that reflect the beauty and uniqueness in each vintage is what got her to where she is today. Her vision has always been to “produce self-expressing, balanced wines from a region known most for its diverse terroir.”

As a St. Francis Winemaker, Katie continues St. Francis’ long tradition of creating high quality wines from Sonoma County grapes. She oversees production of St. Francis Winery’s top selling Zinfandels, Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays as well as many of our other popular white wines. In 2015, Katie was awarded “Best Woman Winemaker” by the International Women’s Wine Competition. She also won Zinfandel Producer of the Year in 2014 and 2015 at the California Zinfandel Championship.

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Katie-Madigan

Katie Madigan

St. Francis Winery & Vineyards

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Chris Loxton

Proprietor & Winemaker

Some of my favorite memories were made while working in the family vineyards in the Riverland of South Australia where we grew Syrah (Shiraz), Mataro (Mourvedre), Grenache and Carignane, in addition to stone fruits and oranges. Following a ten-year career in academics as a research physicist, mostly spent at the University of Illinois, I have returned to my roots as the 4th generation to grow grapes, but the first to make wine. It is with much luck that this has happened in Sonoma Valley, where Loxton Cellars has been established in Glen Ellen.

The first wine was made in 1996 with Syrah added to the portfolio in 1997. The winery was opened in 2004 and now produces 3000 cases per year and in 2012 Loxton Cellars added a vineyard operation as well so that about half its grapes are now grown onsite and the remainder from purchased fruit under long term contracts. The Estate vineyard has Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah and Viognier and also some Zinfandel. Grapes are grown sustainably and the wine making is essentially traditional small batch fermentation in open top tanks. Fermentations are done without inoculating using commercial yeasts and the wines are not fined with the idea that minimal manipulation allows the nature of the vineyard to shine.

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Chris Loxton

Loxton Cellars

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Bart Hansen

Proprietor-Winemaker
DANE CELLARS

My career in the wine industry began as a summer job. During that first harvest, my job was to deliver five tons of grapes at a time, down the mountain, in a one-ton truck. It was from that experience that I knew I wanted to be a winemaker. I began my professional career with Kenwood Vineyards in 1986, where we specialized in vineyard-designated Zinfandels and Cabernets grown in Sonoma Valley.

In 1998, I left my position as Cellarmaster for Kenwood and joined the wine-making team at Benziger Family Winery, just down the road in Glen Ellen. My focus was the production of wines for the Benziger Family Ranch including Tribute, Imagery Estate and Benziger vineyard designates, and in particular the Zinfandel wines for Benziger and Imagery Estate. It was at Benziger that I was introduced to biodynamics and organic farming. At the time, both practices were new to the industry and we developed winemaking methods to go along with the farming practices.

I loved the idea of bringing cutting-edge techniques to age-old winemaking processes. With a passion for creating small-lot, distinctive wines, I was thrilled to join the Lasseter Family Vineyards in 2007 and to have the opportunity to create premium vintages of Rhone and Bordeaux-inspired blends from organically-grown grapes. It was also in 2007 that our son, Dane was born, becoming the inspiration and namesake for the opening of Dane Cellars, that same year.

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Bart Hansen

Dane Cellars

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Robert Schermeister

Founder + Winemaker
Schermeister Winery

In a magical moment surrounded by fellow travelers sipping great wines in Italy, Rob, then a college student, knew his life was about to change forever. It was 2005 and he was in the midst of finishing a degree in Biochemistry at the University of Idaho. His path surely would have led to something in livestock or potatoes, but the universe had different plans. A vacation in Europe was now a pivotal point in the life decisions of a 23-year-old searching for something more, so Rob decided that he would put his obsession with science and nature to good use. He was going to make wine and it was going to be amazing. Having grown up backpacking the Wind Rivers and backcountry of Idaho, Rob felt a deep connection to the workings of the earth and uses that passion to make something for people to enjoy – something that is massively satisfying for his soul. It is experienced in every vintage he makes.

When Rob knew he was going to make wine, he also knew he had to learn from the best. Working as assistant winemaker to cult greats Mark Aubert and Jayson Pahlmeyer, Rob perfected his native fermentation techniques and went on to start his own winery. Further winemaking experience in Washington, Australia, and New Zealand positioned him to begin working on Schermeister Winery, born in 2012. It was the culmination of years of experience with the dream of one day running his own show. Rob is happy to say he is finally doing just that alongside his wife, Laura and their winery dog, Eli.

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Robert Schermeister

Schermeister Winery

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Jordan Kivelstadt

Founder & Head Winemaker

Kivelstadt Cellars

As Founder and Head Winemaker at Kivelstadt Cellars, Jordan seeks to create wines that stand out. His passion for food and wine permeates everything he does. By day he is the Founder and CEO of Free Flow Wines, a wine on tap company focused on improving the quality and sustainability of the wine we drink in restaurants. He initially cut his teeth in wine working harvests in California, Argentina, Chile and Australia. Kivelstadt Cellars is Jordan’s creative outlet and brings balance to his daily responsibilities at Free Flow. He pours all of those experiences into innovating in the wine industry and crafting unique and delicious wines vintage after vintage.

 

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Jordan Kivelstadt

HOST

Kivelstadt Cellars

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  • Sonoma Valley
    • Region
    • History
    • Wine
    • People
  • Visit
    • Directions
    • Eat
    • Stay
    • Transport
    • Map
  • Wineries
    • Wineries Open, Promotions and Special Offers
    • Virtual Sonoma Valley
    • Sonoma Valley Video Library
  • Events
    • SIGNATURE SONOMA VALLEY
    • All Events
  • Extended Family
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