• November 2, 2023
• 7:00 am

Photo credits on six million album covers, a wall of awards, and a full passport—Sony Artisan Andy Katz says it was all an excuse to enjoy good music, drink world-class wine, and explore the world with his young son Jesse in tow.  The world works in mysterious ways.  Father and son lived for a time in Burgundy, while Andy documented the great wineries of France. Traveling village to village, Jesse was fascinated by the difference the land, or “terroir” had on the taste of the same varietal of grapes.

He fell in love with the art and science of winemaking, taking a summer job interning at wineries in Santa Barbara While he went to Business school to figure out his career path.  That experience showed him that you did not have to be born into a wine family to be a winemaker and there were degrees that could pave the way for him. He switched schools and completed degrees in enology, viticulture, and a minor in chemistry. To fast-track his apprenticeship, he worked back-to-back harvests in the Southern and Northern hemispheres, and started his own brand, Aperture, while working at Napa’s famed Screaming Eagle in 2009.

Since then, Jesse has made the first 100-point wines in the region's history, made the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold (selling for $1M to charity) and was named winemaker of the year multiple times.  In 2019, Jesse built a winery for Aperture Cellars, where the buildings are shaped like the lens of the camera, as a nod to his father’s craft and the inspiration for his career. Join us for a talk that celebrates life, love, and the art of winemaking.

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