5/17/2023 0 Comments Revolution wines![]() Hansen also has reds in his repertoire, both for Leo Steen and Stuhlmuller. ![]() Chenin Blanc, being one of California’s also-rans, was affordable enough to work with and had a side benefit: Its South African synonym, Steen, is Hansen’s middle name. In 2004, stymied by the limited choices for interesting local wine to pour by the glass, he decided to make his own under the Leo Steen label. All the while he kept up sommelier duties at Healdsburg spots like Dry Creek Kitchen and Cyrus. He worked at Souverain, both in the lab and at its Geyserville restaurant, and after working harvest in Australia, returned and took a job at Stuhlmuller in 2002, eventually convincing its owners to promote him to winemaker despite a lack of formal training. He thought he might import California wine into Denmark - “I liked the style of the wine at the time it was exotic and different” - but after coming to Napa in 1998, he decided to stay. īackstory: Hansen was born into the restaurant trade - his father was a chef on the Danish coast - and he became a sommelier and manager at the Michelin-starred Kong Hans in Copenhagen. What he does: Makes exceptional Chenin Blanc under his Leo Steen label, and top-notch Chardonnay and other wines for the established Stuhlmuller Vineyards. (Erik Castro / Special To The Chronicle | San Francisco Chronicle) Hansen also makes exceptional Chenin Blanc under his Leo Steen label. Winemaker Leo Hansen amid mustard and vines at Healdsburg’s Stuhlmuller Vineyards. The resulting Grace wines show a rare purity and subtlety of flavor, which might explain how they also attracted an influential fan base, faring well not only in these pages but on wine lists around the world, from New York’s Eleven Madison Park to Stockholm’s Ekstedt. Her work in the cellar is both precise and defined by a light touch, one reminiscent of the approach at the Rhone’s legendary Grenache source, Chateau Rayas. In 2007, while working cellar and assistant winemaking jobs in Santa Barbara and Sonoma, she launched her own label, A Tribute to Grace, with a single wine from that vineyard, Santa Barbara Highlands.įive years later she dropped the other jobs to focus on Grace, which may have been wise since her repertoire has expanded to seven Grenaches, plus a bit of rosé, using vineyards everywhere from Dry Creek Valley to Rancho Cucamonga (San Bernardino County). While working in a wine shop, she became entranced by Grenache and discovered a remote vineyard high in the desert north of Santa Barbara where it thrived. A New Zealand native, she worked in the London wine trade before returning to San Diego, where she had spent time growing up. ![]() What she does: Makes some of the best examples of California Grenache.īackstory: Osborne speaks in nearly spiritual terms about her winemaking, but she is nothing if not focused. (Erik Castro / Photo By: Erik Castro | San Francisco Chronicle) Others, like Jolie-Laide’s Scott Schultz, have managed to push boundaries while crafting wines that are equally pleasing to amateurs and experts.Īngela Osborne at a vineyard in Ventucopa (Santa Barbara County) where she picks Grenache grapes for her label, A Tribute to Grace Wine Company. Some, like Lisa Togni and Rory Williams, are continuing important family legacies. Our California vintners are equally pioneering, whether it’s Angela Osborne asserting that Grenache from the high desert could be the base material for exceptional wine or Craig Haarmeyer being a true believer in the potential of inland California. ![]() Local wine on tap in Phoenix? Now a thing. The Bostocks have advanced not only Arizona wine quality but also its accessibility. The Franks dared to ask whether Pinot Noir, and Burgundy, should be Oregon’s only inspirations. But it also reflects these couples’ crucial work in defining, or redefining, their local wine cultures. In part, this simply matches the full West Coast scope of our Top 100 Wines - and a broader spirit of innovation on this coast. For the first time, our annual list includes winemakers from outside California: Kelly and Todd Bostock of Arizona’s Dos Cabezas, and Scott and Dana Frank of Oregon’s Bow & Arrow. I lobbied for this expansion in part because of the other change. (In some cases, we are resurfacing talents who’ve appeared in our pages over the past year.) The net effect, hopefully, is to give you more names and wines to seek out. There’s so much talent right now that it was important to broaden our roster. ![]() The main one: We’ve doubled the size of the group, from five to 10. ![]()
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