Five winemakers shaping the ‘new California’
The Wine Institute in California tells Sarah Neish which winemaking powerhouses are seeding the Golden State’s future and why.
California’s winemaking legacy has been shaped by some larger-than-life figures. Starting with the likes of George Yount, who planted the first vineyard in Napa Valley in the 1830s, and Agoston Haraszthy, who imported more than 300 European grape varieties for his Buena Vista Winery, founded in Sonoma in 1857, California’s wine industry has been molded by a roll call of pioneering men and women.
Individuals like Robert Mondavi, Warren Winiarski, Miljenko “Mike” Grgich and, later, Helen Turley, Celia Welch, Philippe Melka and Dave Phinney, have all become world-famous names synonymous with Californian wine.
But which of today’s winemakers are gently changing the direction of the state’s wine offering? According to Honore Comfort, vice-president of international marketing for California’s Wine Institute, the Sonoma Coast, Anderson Valley and the Sta. Rita Hills are home to some of “the most exciting winemaking in the state” right now.
Here, Comfort shares top five winemakers or winemaking teams to check out for a ‘new’ take on Californian wine.
Aly and Niki Wente
Despite Wente Family Vineyards being the oldest continuously operated, family-owned winery in the country (since 1883), sisters Aly and Niki are “carrying Wente into its next chapter from Livermore Valley,” Comfort tells db. “Around 75% of California’s Chardonnay plantings trace back to their family’s clone,” she adds and their commitment to green operations is impressive.
“What they’re doing now with sustainability and brand storytelling is setting a benchmark for multigenerational wineries,” says Comfort.
Niki manages vineyard operations, drawing from certified sustainable estates in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, Arroyo Seco, and Monterey appellations, while Ali directs customer experiences for visitors to the Livermore winery, which includes a restaurant, tasting lounge, and golf course.
Steve Matthiasson
According to Comfort, Steve Matthiasson is “one of the most respected viticulturists working today, and a winemaker who has quietly redefined what restrained, food-friendly Napa and broader California wine can look like”. She goes as far as to add: “If there’s a modern house-style people are trying to emulate, it’s probably Steve’s.”
Matthiason is moving the needle of California wine towards lower alcohol, higher acidity, and minimal new oak styles, with Matthiasson Wines, which he runs in Napa Valley with his wife Jill, producing organic wines, often using Italian varieties such as Refosco and Ribolla Gialla.
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Steve also teaches organic viticulture at UC Davis and helped to establish the Two Eighty Project, an urban agriculture initiative in San Francisco which aims to “reclaim and revitalise” spaces for local communities to practice gardening as the city grows “increasingly exclusive” and built up.
Ted Lemon
Having previously worked in Burgundy, New Zealand and Oregon estates, Lemon founded Littorai Wines in 1992, where his work in West Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley “has set much of the template for cool-climate, biodynamic, site-specific California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay,” says Comfort.
She describes his wines as “quietly exemplifying the ‘New California’ in both style and philosophy.”
Speaking about biodynamics, Lemon told Liberty Wines: I think a mistake people often make is to think of biodynamic farming as a return to the past, and that is a profound misunderstanding… The goal is to generate a completely new, modern relationship between the human being and the physical world in which we live. That can only be done with modern thinking.”
The Overshine Collective
Founded in late 2025 by former Google executive David Drummond and several California winemakers, The Overshine Collective is a non-traditional cooperative model based on the idea that “our differences are what makes us stronger”.
Drummond (Overshine founder), Sam Bilbro (Idlewild Wines, Comunità); Martha Stoumen (Martha Stoumen), and Noah and Kelly Dorrance (Reeve Wines and BloodRoot Wines), each brought their own existing brands to the table. As db reported at the time, the big draw, according to Noah Dorrance, is that The Overshine Collective offers “a unique middle ground that will allow us to benefit from the efficiencies of the Collective while continuing to grow [our own brands].”
“These guys represent a new take on the traditional idea of a collective,” explains Comfort. “Each of the brand owners contributes to supporting the company framework, while continuing to make and sell their own labels.”
Issamu Kamide and Andrew Lardy
The best-friend creative duo from Virginia are the brains behind Wonderwerk, “an upstart LA-based wine company making exciting, interesting wines that range from ‘low-intervention to high-innovation’,” says Comfort. “These wines offer value and quality that everyone can enjoy even though they clearly target the next-gen wine consumer.”
“Every bottle begins as a concept – a look, a feel, an moment, a vibe,” reads Wonderwerk’s mission statement. Innovations include the Light Werk range, a collection of low-ABV wine-based drinks. “Where once wine lived just on ‘by-the-glass’ or bottle lists (and often at an overpriced or a significant cost), Lite Werk is affordable and versatile. Lite Werk can live as an ingredient on a cocktail menu as much as a pour in a glass”, the brand’s website explains.
More Californian winemaking talent to watch
Naturally, the above only scratches the surface of exceptional winemakers who “continue to raise the bar for California wines”, explains Comfort. She further shouts out: Tegan Passalacqua; Morgan Twain-Peterson MW; Sashi Moorman; Angela Osborne, Cathy Corison; Helen Keplinger; John and Rory Williams.
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