Winemaker Biography,

I did not grow up the son of a fifth, forth, nor third generation winemaker. Instead, I spent my childhood learning craftsmanship. The son of a general contractor, and finish carpenter, my childhood had smells of sawdust. After school activities included planing raw materials, glue-ups and finish sanding. Like most small business owners, my parents had no days off, and as a child, our understanding was that if you were to call in sick from school really meant you’d be going to work. 

It wasn’t until I was a sophomore in high school that wine became a part of my life. My parent’s company had contracted to make a small condo atop a barn on a vineyard. My father finessed one ton of Petite Sirah into the contract. Shoveling grapes into a destemmer late into the evening in 2007 was my first exposure to the vinification and winemaking process. 

As time went on, and we made more wine in this makeshift winery, which was just a barn for most of the year, I realized that these experiences with wine had sparked a passion in me. Shortly thereafter, my parents became shareholders in this property, Solana, and wine became an official piece of our family business. 

With my new enthusiasm for wine, applications were sent to both Fresno State, and Cal Poly, SLO. And thankfully, acceptance letters shortly followed. I chose Cal Poly for its proximity to Paso. The curriculum expanded my comprehension of theoretical aspects of the processes, building on the practical experience of winemaking and viticulture I had gained helping my family throughout high school. 

As my collegiate experience was drawing to an end, classmates began mentioning post grad plans. Many of which were to travel abroad. This sparked my interest in working with wine in other parts of the world. I graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in Enology, and a minor in Agricultural Business. I walked across that graduation stage with a ticket to Australia in my pocket. 

The beginning of 2015 was spent working Down Under at Elderton Winery with Shiraz grapes which were planted in 1894. This was an awesome experience to get my feet wet under circumstances I wasn’t accustomed to, and to work with grapes which were over 100 years old. As harvest 2015 was coming to an end in the Barossa, I connected with Guillaume Fabre, of Clos Solene. At the time, he was making a reserve wine for Hearst Ranch Winery. He was looking for help as he was leaving L'Aventure, to work full time on his own projects. I spent the next year working closely with Guillaume in the cellar. As harvest was wrapping up for the northern hemisphere, Guilllaume hinted, he may have something in the works. Coming from a sixth generation winemaking family in France, Guillaume had connections with some remarkable houses. 

Spring of 2016 I found myself packing my bags, and moving to the center of Bordeaux, to work in the vineyard for Petrus. After the summer growing season was over, I headed to Chateauneuf to work in the cellar of Domaine La Barroche. This was the perfect Rhône compliment to my experience of the Barossa working with historical sites. It was a blessing to be present during such incredible growing seasons in both regions. 

As the harvest was winding down, I started looking for job opportunities on the Central Coast. Itek was looking for a full time filtration technician. I spent the following 8 months tasting, and analyzing the effects of various types of filtration techniques on wines, and wineries throughout the Central Coast. 

During that time, I began to concentrate my focus on winemaking. I’d always wanted to do a harvest in Napa, and started sending applications all throughout the region. I landed at Realm Cellars for the harvest of 2017 —  a harvest defined by fires, and what was the first of many devastating natural disasters to occur in the years to come. As the fires started to break out, I remember speaking with Benoit and Scott — they barricaded themselves in the winery. A few days later I got a call that they could use help in the winery. Packed with rations, and a few days of clothes on my back, an intern and I attempted to hike into the winery before being turned away by law enforcement. Shortly thereafter, Benoit and Scott came on ATV’s through the backroad of a vineyard to take us back to the winery. The devastation brought perspective and I decided to move back to Paso to work closer to family. 

In 2018 a position opened at a winery I had applied to at the same time as Realm. The first several months of working at Sine Qua Non were spent strictly in the Cumulus Vineyard. Many of the techniques I had learned in Pomerol were nearly identical to SQN. One day of extreme heat in late July drastically affected the crop, and once again Mother Nature played a significant role in what would be a rather petit 2018 harvest. 

Thankfully in Paso there was an abnormally moderate summer. As the growing season continued, my father sent numbers from our home ranch, Solana. The preservation of acidity, and accumulation of brix was fantastic. I began to drive home regularly after working through the night at SQN to check on our family’s grapes. 

I decided to make a small amount of wine from a particular area of our vineyard. The plan was to continue to work full time for the team at SQN, and at any available moment, drive back to make what would become, Un Petit Début. This became a little too much, and after much deliberation, and faith in the future, I made the decision to leave a job I had been working towards my entire career. I had worked for some of the most renowned names in the industry. A list unfathomable in 2007, when I was first introduced to wine.

2019 was my first full year home since I had graduated from Cal Poly, and so, the wine produced that year was named appropriately, Le Retour. I find it essential to pay homage to those who gave me an opportunity to learn and work beside them. The predominant nationality of my mentors is French, thus the names of each release will be in French. 

I wouldn’t be in this position without the persistent support of my family. They have been my unconditional cheerleaders. It would be selfish of me to plant a name down in the industry without paying them the highest level of gratitude. Thus, the name of my brand is ALL the BAERs, or simplified, ALLBAER.