Jessie Katz has a renowned career in photography. The aperture of a camera lens changes the amount of light a photographer has to work with. Aperture wines shed light on the potential of Bordeaux varietals grown in the cooler sub-regions of Sonoma.

Jesse Katz, named by the Wine Spectator as a “rising star,” is winemaker and owner of Aperture Cellars. Jesse has been influenced by Bordeaux-styled winemaking as he sets his sights on success making wines from Sonoma County. His winery rests on a 32-acre parcel in Healdsburg, California. The vineyards for this Chenin Blanc were originally planted in the 1940’s in Clarksburg, California. This barrel-fermented Chenin Blanc is a floral Loire Valley look-a-like. The vibrant bouquet of white flowers and dried pineapple pulls you in after the first sip. The wealth of mandarin orange and apple blossom fruit is richly crafted but not weighty and impeccably balanced with minerality and freshness. Had this style been produced years ago, it would have become the megastar of white varietals. There is a lot of happiness in this bottling.

By W Peter Hoyne