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Winemaker Notes
Critical Acclaim
All Vintages
Kale Anderson grew up in Sonoma County, where he was exposed to the wine industry by a community that encouraged creativity, love for the outdoors, and stewardship of the land.
He attended the University of California, Davis intending to pursue medicine, like his father had, but instead found himself drawn to Davis’ Plant Biology program. As an undergraduate Kale researched DNA repair in plants. He spent winters in Tahoe, and tried his hand at commercial fishing in Alaska during the summertime.
Feeling scientifically inspired but creatively unfulfilled, Kale transitioned into an interdisciplinary major in Nature and Culture. While changing his major, he stumbled upon an introductory course in Viticulture and Enology. It immediately struck him to be the most fascinating blend of nature and culture that he had experienced to date. This discovery set him on a focused trajectory toward winemaking.
In 2001, Kale took his first harvest internship at J Winery, Russian River. After graduating BS Viticulture and Enology, he worked at Colgin Cellars, Terra Valentine Winery, Cliff Lede Vineyards in Stags Leap District and is currently Director of Winemaking for Pahlmeyer.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.