Sally Johnson | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Michigan, University of California, Davis |
Occupation | Winemaker |
Years active | 1994-present |
Employer | Pride Mountain Vineyards [1] |
Notable work | Pride Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon |
Children | Violet and Roland |
Sally Johnson is an American female winemaker based in Napa, California known for Cabernet Sauvignon wines. [2] She is currently working at Pride Mountain Vineyards, where her wines are routinely ranked in Wine Spectator's Top 100 wine list. [3] [4]
Johnson came to the world of wine by way of biotech in college, where she studied abroad in France and learned about wine. [5] She came to California and studied winemaking at University of California, Davis. [6]
After college, Johnson joined St. Francis Winery in Sonoma County and stayed eight years. She then took a brief hiatus in 2002 and relocated to Australia to work at St. Hallett Winery in South Australia's Barossa Valley and also produced her own label, Lalys Cellars, for several years. [7]
In 2007, Johnson moved back to California and joined Pride Mountain Vineyards. [8] She is now a consulting winemaker for Curvature, Hotel Domestique Winery 17, Schoolhouse and Sequum wines. [7]
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state. California would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world if it were an independent nation.
André Viktorovich Tchelistcheff was America's most influential post-Prohibition winemaker. Tchelistcheff is most notable for his contributions toward defining the style of California's best wines, especially Cabernet Sauvignon. Called the "dean of American winemakers", industry pioneers, such as Rev. John Staten of Field Stone Winery, Robert Mondavi, Louis Martini, Rob Davis of Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Joel Aiken, Michael Silacci of Opus One, Greg La Follette, of Ancient Oak, and Rick Sayre of Rodney Strong Wine Estates, considered him their mentor. Andre advised Warren Winiarski in launching Stag's Leap Wine Cellars which famously made the 1973 SLV Cabernet Sauvignon that was awarded the most points in the ”Judgement of Paris” wine tasting in 1976. Andre also assisted Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in launching the Anthology program at Conn Creek Winery in 1991.
Warren Winiarski is a Napa Valley winemaker and the founder and former proprietor of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.
Miljenko "Mike" Grgich was a Croatian-American winemaker in California. He was the winemaker behind the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that bested several white Burgundy wines in the wine tasting event that became known as the Judgement of Paris. In recognition of his contributions to the American wine industry, Grgich was inducted into the Culinary Institute of America's Vintner's Hall of Fame on March 7, 2008. The tribute came at the same time that Grgich was celebrating his 50th vintage of winemaking in the Napa Valley.
Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County, California. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier wine regions in the world. Records of commercial wine production in the region date back to the nineteenth century, but premium wine production dates back only to the 1960s.
Heidi Peterson Barrett is an American winemaker and entrepreneur who has been responsible for some of California's most notable cult wines. Her career has included stints at Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle Vineyards, Paradigm Winery, Grace Family Vineyards, Amuse Bouche, Lamborn Family, Showket Vineyards, Revana Family Vineyards, Vineyard 29 and Fantesca Estate & Winery. Barrett is a consultant for Elizabeth Spencer and has her own wine label, La Sirena.
Fantesca Estate & Winery is a boutique winery in the Spring Mountain District AVA of Napa Valley. The proprietors – Susan Schulze Hoff and Duane Hoff – are former executives of Best Buy Company. Since April 2008, Heidi Barrett has been the estate's winemaker.
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Quilceda Creek Winery is a boutique winery in Snohomish, Washington specializing in premium Cabernet Sauvignon wine. The winery is named for a nearby creek in Snohomish County. Although the winery facility is located west of the Cascade Range, the winery sources all of its grapes from its four estate vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and Red Mountain AVA. Quilceda Creek Winery has earned some of the highest reviews and awards of any winery in the United States and was the first American wine from outside of California to earn a perfect 100-point score from wine critic Robert Parker's publication The Wine Advocate. Since its founding in 1978, Quilceda Creek has received an additional seven 100-point scores from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, one 100-point score from Decanter (Magazine) and two 100-point scores from acclaimed wine blog OwenBargreen.com. In addition to critics' praise, one of the highest honors for Quilceda Creek happened when President Barack Obama chose to serve their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley at a White House dinner to President Hu Jintao of China in 2011.
Chinook is a Washington winery located in the Yakima Valley AVA. Founded in 1983 by the wife and husband team of Kay Simon and Clay Mackey, Chinook was one of the pioneering wineries that established Prosser, Washington as a major wine-producing region in Washington state. Kay Simon, who began her career after graduating in 1976 from University of California-Davis in California's San Joaquin Valley and at Chateau Ste. Michelle, was one of the first female winemaker in Washington State. Chinook wines are widely regarded for their quality and help spread recognition for Washington wines. They are considered by wine experts such as Paul Gregutt to be "the classic expression of Yakima Valley fruit". Chinook's work with Cabernet franc, in particular, has garnered the statewide acclaim with the dry Cabernet franc rosé often described in wine reviews as a "Washington Chinon".
Colgin Cellars is a winery in Napa Valley, California, founded in 1992.
Cathy Corison is an American winemaker, entrepreneur and consultant. She specializes in Cabernet Sauvignon. Corison was the San Francisco Chronicle Winemaker of the Year in 2011.
Mia Klein is a Californian winemaker and entrepreneur, founder of Selene Wines in Napa, California. Her career has spanned decades in the food and wine industry in both Northern and Southern California.
Nicole Abiouness is an American female entrepreneur and winemaker. She owns and operates Abiouness Wines, in Mendocino County, Napa Valley, California where she makes Pinot Noir and Sangiovese wine.
Spoto Family Wines is an ultra-boutique winery in Sacramento, California that is owned and operated by the Spoto Family. The winemaker, Stuart Spoto, makes Bordeaux-style blends with grapes from the Oakville Station in Oakville.
David Duncan is an American vintner and entrepreneur. The President and Chief Executive Officer of Duncan Oil, he is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Silver Oak Cellars and Managing Partner of Twomey Cellars, successful wineries in northern California, operating in the Napa, Alexander and Russian River Valleys. He is the son of late Raymond Twomey Duncan, an oil and wine entrepreneur who co-founded Silver Oak in 1972 with Justin Meyer. Silver Oak is a family-run and owned business, and his brother Tim Duncan is Executive Vice President of the company. ColoradoBiz says that David Duncan is "as much a hands-on winery president as he can be", as president of a winery that has "reached cult status" for its Cabernet Sauvignon production.
Force Majeure is a Washington/Oregon wine estate, specializing in Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon as well as other Bordeaux and Rhone-inspired blends. The brand was founded in 2004, and beginning with that vintage began the "Collaboration Series" of wines made by some of Washington's top winemakers, using fruit from Red Mountain's Ciel du Cheval vineyard. Since 2014, the wines have been made by acclaimed winemaker Todd Alexander, who moved from the Napa Valley to the Pacific Northwest at that time. The brand labels also changed in 2014, to signify the winemaking change and the use of their estate vineyards for the wines, going forward. Todd Alexander continues to craft these limited production wines to this day.
Elizabeth Vianna is a female winemaker and businesswoman who has been responsible for some of California's most notable Cabernet wines. She is one of America's few Latina winemakers, known for Bordeaux-style wines at Chimney Rock, a part of Terlato Wine Group.