Jesse Katz, the prodigious winemaker behind Healdsburg’s Aperture Cellars and numerous wine partnerships, has been named 2025 Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Star Awards.
As one of California’s most closely watched young winemakers, Katz has earned high accolades in recent years. In 2014, he became the first winemaker on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list and was later named a “40 Under 40 Tastemaker” by Wine Enthusiast and “Rising Star” by Wine Spectator.
Recently, Aperture’s 2021 Farrow Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley earned Wine Enthusiast’s first 100-point score for a Sonoma County Cabernet. He also received 100 points for his 2022 Devil Proof Vineyards Farrow Ranch Malbec and 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon from Del Rio Vineyards by Jeb Dunnuck. His Chenin Blanc also holds Wine Enthusiast’s top rating for the varietal in California.
“To have Wine Enthusiast recognize our work is a profound moment for me and for the entire Aperture team, whose dedication and precision make everything we do possible,” said Katz. “We’ve always viewed wine as a lens … and this award inspires us to keep pushing boundaries, refining our craft and telling the story of Sonoma County.”
Born in Boulder, Colorado, Katz earned a degree in enology and viticulture from Fresno State University before studying wine at the acclaimed Pétrus winery in Bordeaux, France, as well as cult wine favorite Screaming Eagle and Robert Foley Vineyards in Napa Valley, and Viña Cobos and Bodega Noemia in Argentina…