Client List
All wineries brokered by Springboard Wine unless otherwise noted.
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Baker Lane Vineyards is a winery that is about place. The wines are produced from vineyards situated on opposing slopes of a small north/south valley that is part of the Laguna de Santa Rosa watershed in the Sonoma Coast appellation, just outside Sebastopol, California. In 2002, pursuing a lifelong dream, Stephen Singer bought a beautiful hillside property in Sebastopol for the purposes of creating a vineyard, olive orchard and homestead. RoadsEnd Farm, which he operates with his wife, Michel, represents the culmination of all of his interests—aesthetic, viticultural, gustatory and environmental. Baker Lane wines are produced under the watchful eye of their winemaker, Steven Canter. 2004 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was the winery's inaugural release. It, like subsequent vintages, is drawn from three clonal selections (Pommard, 777, and 115) that are planted on the largely east facing slopes of the Hurst Family Twin Hill Ranch. Baker Lane will release a 2006 Estate Vineyard Syrah and a 2006 Hurst Vineyard Pinot Noir in January 2008. Fact Sheets | Current Press
Also from Stephen Singer:
Stephen Singer, Olio L.L.C. began as an importing venture based on a couple of simple, but passionately held ideas: a deep appreciation for the pleasures of the Italian table and an entrepreneurial impulse to provide to restaurants the kinds of distinctive oils and vinegars that inspired Stephen Singer’s quest for flavor. Fact Sheets.
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Banknote Wine Company is committed to producing the highest quality Zinfandel, and Zin based blends, selected from only the finest Napa Valley and Sonoma County Vineyards. Banknote Wine Company was created in 2007 by Pete Nixon, a wine label designer, and 19 year Napa Valley resident with a passion for Zinfandel. Throughout his career of working on labels for large wineries, as well as creating labels and brand identity for many new winemakers, he had a persistent dream of starting his own brand. During a meeting with a client and friend, winemaker William Knuttel (Saintsbury, Chalk Hill, and most recently Dry Creek Vineyard), discussion turned to the dream Pete had of delving into his own brand. After a few hours of discussion (and a few glasses of Zin), William graciously agreed to make wine for Pete and to help his dream turn to reality. Banknote Wine Company was born. Fact Sheets
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The Bookwalter family began tilling the soils of
Europe well before the first generation stepped foot in the United
States at the beginning of the 18th century. The name Bookwalter,
descended from Bouch-Walder, is Swiss Mennonite and means “Tender of Beechwood Forests”.
Bookwalter Winery, founded by grape growing pioneer Jerrold R. Bookwalter in 1983, has been instrumental in developing and growing vineyards in Washington State since 1976. The winery was a natural extension of his efforts in the vineyards and his desire to produce world class wines.
The Bookwalter family roots are deep in agriculture and the Washington wine and viticulture industry. With several of the top vineyard sources in the state and a commitment to excellence in winemaking, Bookwalter winery is positioned to fulfill the growing demand for ultra premium wines from Washington State. Fact Sheets
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The inspiration for Bravo Marco Bravo Rosso is Mark Cesario the autistic son of wine industry veteran, Michael Cesario owner of the Bravo Wine Company.
Bravo Marco Bravo Rosso is made by winemaker Gregory Perucci who has made a name for himself and his Puglian estates by his skill with and his passion for historically significant indigenous grapes and his desire to preserve them for future generations. Bravo Marco Bravo is made at Gregory¹s Accademia Dei Racemi estate in Puglia.
A portion of the proceeds from each case of Bravo Marco Bravo is donated to the Doug Flutie Junior Foundation for Autism to help fund service, education and advocacy for those affected by Autism.
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Breggo means sheep in Boontling, derived from the Spanish word Borrego of the same meaning. The winery was named in honor of the region’s history. Breggo’s proprietor and winemaker, Douglas Ian Stewart grew up in the town of Sonoma surrounded by family farmers who had been growing grapes and selling wine for five and six generations. His wife and coproprietor Ana Lucia Benitz-Stewart grew up in Ecuador in a large family whose roots as farmers and ranchers date to Spanish colonial times.
In 2000, Doug and Ana Lucia bought an old sheep ranch three miles north of Boonville on Highway 128. The ranch spans 203 acres stretching from the roadside to the ridge, purchased with the understanding that sheep and vines flourish where the domesticated meets the wilderness. They approach winemaking with one basic premise: great wine is made in the vineyard. In 2006 announced their inaugural release of Breggo Cellars premier quality wines. Fact Sheets | Current Press
Claudia Springs Winery is a family owned micro-winery located in the Anderson Valley producing limited quantities of premium Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah, Pinot Gris and Viognier. Bob and Claudia Klindt, proprietors, completed their initial planting on their Anderson Valley property in July 1998, consisting of eight acres of Pinot Noir and two acres of Pinot Gris.
Claudia Springs has grown to an annual production nearing 3,000 cases. Every bit of the work, from crushing and press-ing to bottling and marketing, is done by Bob and Claudia. Their hands-on approach allows them to maintain strict, personal quality control. Claudia Springs was founded on and continues to be guided by hard work, dedication and friendship. Fact Sheets | Current Press
Cary Tamura founded Diogenes Wine Company with the aim of creating handcrafted, limited-production estate wines. The winery currently owns a 15-acre vineyard in Lake County¹s Big Valley region, between the towns of Kelseyville and Lakeport. Future vineyard plans include an estate Cabernet Sauvignon from the area where Cary and his partners grew up on Howell Mountain as well as an estate Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley.
The winery's 15-acre Estate Sauvignon Blanc vineyard is elevated 1335 feet above sea level and the ground there is deep and fertile a mixture of volcanic and fine alluvial soils. The vineyard is not far from the southern shore of the largest natural lake within California. The lake contributes to the wide temperature swings experienced by the region; where it is common to have a 50-degree variance from daytime high to nighttime low during the growing season. Nurtured by warm days and cool nights, the vines produce fruit with aromas and flavors of rich citrus, tropical fruit and gorgeously balanced acidity. Fact Sheets
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Winemaker and owner, Phillip Staehle, created Enkidu not just to make wines of distinction, but to get back to “working with my hands, to use all of my senses, and live and work according to the seasons of the year.” Phil learned his craft at Carmenet Vineyards (Chalone Wine Group) for approximately ten years. His winemaking style is to create wines that are first and foremost an expression of the vineyard, employing a minimalist approach that utilizes techniques that, while they may be risky, maximize the expression of the fruit. Phil’s results are carefully crafted and nurtured wines which are distinctive and expressive. Fact Sheets
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Jamey Whetstone of Whestone Wines and Henri Gabriel of Advintage Fine Wine came together to create Manifesto and have taken a Ben & Jerry’s approach to wine-making; "we’re about truth in product, truth in advertising".
Starting at the bottom rung – as a “cellar rat” at
Turley Wine Cellars, Jamey Whetstone began his winemaking career
in 1998. Over the next 10 years, Jamey quickly found his natural
footing in the world of wine; he became assistant winemaker at Turley,
spent a month working at Domaine Dujac, one of Burgundy’s leading
wine houses, planted 30 acres of hillside vineyard, learned Spanish,
founded Whetstone Wine Cellars, left Turley, started Whetstone Consulting – and
whew! – eventually co-founded Manifesto!
Henri Gabriel, who grew up in his family’s French restaurant, was introduced to wine at age 12. “Wine was served with every meal,” recalls Henri, who had more exposure to fine wine than most children. Over time, Henri started purchasing wine for his family’s restaurant, which in essence, is the beginning of his career in the wine industry. After working various jobs relating to food and wine, traveling, gaining an education and taking up surfing, Henri decided to test his entrepreneurial skills and founded Advintage Fine Wine Distributing in 2003.
As Henri and Jamey Whetstone are old knock-around wave riders and wine drinkers, they were naturals to found Manifesto! in 2007. The basic principle of Manifiesto! is to identify and work with a handful of growers to produce great wine without charging a whole lot of money. Fact Sheets
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Peter
Mathis planted his 7.5 acre hillside vineyard in the Sonoma Valley
in 1999 with Grenache, Petite Sirah, Carignane and Alicante Bouche.
The field blend was chosen to produce wine styled after classic
wines from the Rhone Valley. Peter farms the land and makes the
wine. After the hard work of clearing, planting and tending the
vineyard as well as producing the wine, Peter is proud to present
his inaugural release of 2004 Mathis Grenache. Fact
Sheet.
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Medlock Ames: Many people marvel at the ancient spectacle of winemaking but few can make the decision to take up both the viticultural and winemaking challenge. Lifelong friends Christopher Medlock James and Ames Morison decided to do exactly that, driven by the desire to create something entirely of their own design but also with the goal of making a wine with a real sense of place. That special site took a long time to find. In 1998, after looking at literally hundreds of prospective vineyards throughout California, they happened upon Bell Mountain in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. Both men instantly knew they had found exactly what they were looking for and quickly set about turning this wonderful site into Medlock Ames vineyard and winery - focusing on premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
About Medlock Ames | How We Farm | Fact Sheets | Current Press
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Robert Craig
Wine Cellars: Robert Craig has been a pioneer in the development
of hillside vineyards from Napa Valley's great appellations. He has
been instrumental in the development of mountain AVAs in Napa. Specifically,
he was the architect of the Spring Mountain and Mt. Veeder AVAs. He
is a visionary in creating a new wine style for mountain Cabernets
that emphasizes ripe fruit, soft and supple tannins, and early balance
and integration, to produce Cabernets that are deep and delicious when
young, with structure for long-term aging.
Bob established his winery in 1992 and the first Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon debuted in 1995. His winemaking philosophy is that Cabernet Sauvignon should be made with structure, balance and feature a sense of place. Most famous for the mountain wines, Robert Craig's hillside Affinity is equally complex and engaging. Fact Sheets | Current Press | Distributed by Henry Wine Group, 800-669-9429.
Spencer
Roloson Winery produces outstanding wines from the volcanic
California hillsides of the St. Helena and Clear Lake areas. Sam
Spencer and Wendy Roloson came together to create Spencer Roloson,
combining Sam’s global winemaking experiences
and Wendy’s
knowledge of marketing & branding. Focusing on Rhone and Spanish
varietals, they 
specialize in single vineyard estate bottlings of Syrah,
Viognier and Tempranillo.
The last five years have seen the development of Spencer Roloson’s two vineyards projects: La Herradura Vineyard and Madder Lake Vineyard. The vineyards sites have rocky cobbled personalities and extreme growing conditions, but offer potential for the resulting wines to have incredible structure, balance and power. Fact Sheets | Current Press
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After
more than 25 years making wine in Sonoma and Napa, Stephen Test and
his wife Carol decided to launch their own project. Stephen has been
learning and practicing his craft starting in the vineyard, where
site, clone and careful attention to viticultural details have made
huge advances in wine quality; to the cellar, where techniques like
native yeast fermentation and careful handling without filtration
have elevated complexity and concentration.
Stephen is using his years of experience to handcraft small lots from outstanding sites to create the best possiblewines from that particular harvest. Stephen makes wines that taste good to him, and he hopes the wines find an appreciative audience. Fact Sheets | Press
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Suacci Carciere began with a vineyard, a passion for wine, and a 25-year friendship between two families. The Suacci and Carciere families raised their kids together in the tiny town of Sebastopol in Sonoma County. Both had Italian grandfathers who made wine, and their interest in wine grew as the Sonoma County wine industry grew up around them.
The Suaccis planted their family vineyard in 2001, around the time that cooler coastal vineyard sites became more and more sought after by high-end wineries. Suacci Vineyard is located in a south facing valley tucked into the foothills of English Mountain, within the Russian River Valley appellation boundaries.
As the vineyard developed, it became apparent that the quality of the Pinot Noir grown on this tiny site was outstanding. After the first few crops had been sold to other wineries, John Suacci approached his good friends Carol and Andy Carciere over dinner one evening with the crazy idea that they keep the 5th season’s grapes and make wine themselves. And Suacci Carciere was born.
The team wanted to launch Suacci Carciere with both a Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay bottling, so they secured grapes from the noted Heintz Vineyard. Owned and managed by Charlie Heintz—highly rated in the wine community—the winery was thrilled to have such an outstanding fruit source for their very first releases. Fact Sheets
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Timeless
Palates Wines / La Fenêtre. Like
the best Burgundian Negociants, Timeless Palates Wines is committed
to offering only the highest quality of Santa Barbara wines.
For this Joshua Klapper and Mark Mendoza, founders and trained sommeliers,
work with great vineyards and source only the highest quality fruit.
Timeless Palates Wines was founded in 2005 after repeated trips to the Santa
Barbara County wine country. “After tasting the wine for over
three years professionally, and then visiting the winemakers and the places
we loved, we felt it was time to get our hands dirty.” While the
great old world wine regions of Burguny, Bordeaux, and the Rhône
are the benchmarks, Joshua and Mark are compeled to be true to the places where
they purchase the fruit. Their wines are elegant, perfectly balanced, great
with food, and long to finish. Fact
Sheets | Current
Press
What happens when you take 8 guys, their
families, and a deep dedication to the craft of winemaking? Well, first
you get a terrible mess. Then you get good wine. Then you get 8 drunken
men. Finally, you get the breakthrough: wine as experience. A lifestyle.
A community-based service. Like a printing press or a local farm, Two
Mile Wines are about a place; a people; a way. A wine crush takes a
village, and the folks at Two
Mile make for a very good village. The
wines are made in Berkeley California, with grapes from Sonoma, Napa,
and the Central Coast. The Two Mile team has deep relationships with
their growers (some of the best in California), and the growers grow
grapes in the same way the Two Mile crew makes wine – with their
hands. Two Mile doesn't own any vineyards, allowing them to keep their
eye on the wine, pouncing on any opportunity to get a hold of exceptional
fruit. Fact
Sheets
Vinoce
Vineyards, a
small, family owned winery, is dedicated to creating wines that
reflect the region's fine tradition. Brian and Lori Nuss have made
their home in the Mt. Veeder Appellation for over 20 years. Brian
and Lori's love for fine wine commmenced with the planting of grapes
in the mountainous terrain 12 years ago. Cultivating and caring
for their grapes has been a passion for the couple. The Nuss Family
is deeply rooted within the Napa Valley area, raising their children
in local schools, and contributing greatly to the tradition of
fine winemakers in the region. Brian and Lori Nuss have achieved
their dream of building a successful family-owned winery in one
of the most exclusive regions in the Napa Valley. Through their
hard work and contributions to the winemaking region, the local
community, and their family, they have added to the integrity
and pride of the region.
Fact Sheets | Current
Press
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Ryan Zepaltas moved from his native state of Wisconsin in 1998 - mostly just to be a skateboard bum (not really knowing much about wine). His first wine job as a cellar hand at La Crema Winery taught him the basics of winemaking. After a pair of vintages at La Crema, Ryan headed to New Zealand to work for Villa Maria. It was during his third vintage that Ryan realized winemaking was his passion. He then headed back to the Russian River Valley, and started working for Adam & Dianna Lee of Siduri Wines & Novy Family Winery where he works as the Assistant Winemaker.
In 2004 Ryan purchased his first grapes and hit the ground running. In fall 2007, Zepaltas was named one of the ³Hot New Dozen of California Pinot Noir² by the Wine Spectator and has built a cult following for his cool climate Pinot Noir, Syrah & Chardonnays. Fact Sheets | Press