Father-Son Duo Andy and Jesse Katz Spent 30 Years Photographing Global Vineyards. Now They’re Making Award-Winning Wines
By the time Jesse turned 38 two years ago, he had been named the first winemaker on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, a rising star by Wine Spectator and then made into Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 too. Yet, his path to winemaking has been beyond unusual. READ SUCCESS ARTICLE

The 2021 and 2022 Vintage Reviews
“I was particularly impressed by the lineup of 2021s from winemaker Jesse Katz and associate winemaker Hillary Sjolund. The duo’s skills and attention to detail are apparent across brands and varieties, from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Fine-tuning of extraction, paired with the cooler vintage, resulted in wines that are surprisingly fresh and light on their feet despite their concentrated flavors, and in general, alcohols are down about half a percent. Using an automated pump-over system, which was new to the pair in 2019, has allowed Katz and Sjolund to precisely adjust the maceration for red wines. “
READ ROBERT PARKER’S THE WINE ADVOCATE ARTICLE AND REVIEWS

The Sonoma Wine Region Rises to Rival
“Katz has the know-how, team, tools, sites, and vision to produce some of Sonoma County’s best Cabernet Sauvignon, and readers can look forward to an expanded – and even more delicious – portfolio of wines as Katz and his team continue in their pursuit of excellence”
READ ROBERT PARKER’S THE WINE ADVOCATE ARTICLE AND REVIEWS

The Sonoma Wine Region Rises to Rival Napa
“Katz is among the winemakers and producers who are proving that Sonoma can offer beautiful, collectible, and varied wines to rival Napa Valley’s powerful”
READ BARRON’S PENTA ARTICLE

Spotlight on Aperture and Devil Proof
“If you haven’t heard of Jesse Katz yet, you soon will. He’s one of northern California’s most talented young winemakers with a natural eye for unique sites in Sonoma and Napa.”  READ LISA PEROTTI-BROWN’S ARTICLE

Luxury Healdsburg Winery is on an Aggressive Expansion Push
“Aperture Cellars, which is quickly becoming one of the major players in high-end Sonoma County wine, has just added a sizable new vineyard to its holdings.” READ ESTHER MOBLEY’S ARTICLE>

Sonoma: Looking at the 2019s
 “Aperture, which is run by Jesse Katz, is a label readers will love, and his even smaller production Malbecs under his Devil Proof label are pure magic. These are incredible wines and some of the finest Malbecs in the world, without a doubt. Readers who love classic Bordeaux blends shouldn’t miss.” READ JEB DUNNUCK ARTICLE>

Aperture Cellars Wines: An Aesthetic & Sensory Tour-De-Force “Jesse Katz has been called a wunderkind, a boy genius, a maverick — and the winemaker behind Devil Proof Malbec, the best Malbec in California’s history is all those things. But as I learned in a virtual tasting of his Aperture Cellars lineup, he’s also a hard-working, down-to-earth, super-nice guy.” READ FORBES ARTICLE>

Picture Perfect: Jesse Katz’s Aperture Cellars
When Montage Healdsburg sought a vintner partner to oversee its onsite vineyard, the spectacular new resort selected Jesse Katz of Aperture Cellars. Surrounded by more than 425 Sonoma County wineries, the resort and its management team could have chosen to work with any number of influential winemakers, each of whom would have jumped at the chance to collaborate with the region’s largest hospitality venue. But it was Katz, a Wine Enthusiast ‘40 Under 40 Tastemaker,’ who got the nod. READ JUST LUXE ARTICLE>

Why Healdsburg Is California Wine Country’s Greatest Sleeper
“Sonoma County has one of the most unique terroirs in the world,” he continues. “The cold Pacific Ocean has a massive effect on temperature and creates a lot of microclimates, with sometimes 40-degree swings from the heat of the day to the cool of the night. We have areas cooler than Champagne and as warm as Bordeaux, along with a wide variety of soils with significant influence from volcanic activity a long time ago.” READ DEPARTURES ARTICLE>

A New Winery In Sonoma With A Stunning Hospitality Space Grapples With Covid
Aperture Estate not only represents the realization of a dream that superstar young veteran winemaker Jesse Katz has envisioned but it also represents the experiences he has shared with his father traveling around the world since he was seventeen months old.
READ FORBES ARTICLE>

Aperture Cellars Brings Sonoma County into Focus “Photography and winemaking might not seem to have a lot in common. But if it wasn’t for photography, Jesse Katz probably never would have become a renowned winemaker. Katz’s long journey to becoming a winemaker can be traced back to his father, Andy, a professional photographer.” READ MASS LIVE ARTICLE>

This winemaker to the stars has opened a Sonoma tasting room of his own “The wine wunderkind, 36-year-old Jesse Katz, has had his hands in several of high-profile projects over the last decade. He has made custom-label wines for celebrities such as Justin Timberlake, Tony Hawk, and Ellen DeGeneres. He worked at Screaming Eagle. He studied in France. He created a malbec that Robert Parker called the best he’d ever tasted.” READ SF CHRONICLE ARTICLE>

A Virtual Winery Opening: Sonoma Winemaker Jesse Katz Planned To Open His Tasting Room This Month Aperture winemaker Jesse Katz had April 17 circled on his calendar for months. The up-and-coming California winemaker was supposed to open a new tasting room for his winery just south of Healdsburg, a project that has been years in the making and a dream of his for more than a decade. But the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders mean it may be months before Katz christens the space. READ WINE SPECTATOR ARTICLE >

Aperture Cellars Announces “The Aperture Estate”: Opening in Healdsburg Spring 2020 “Aperture Cellars the renowned Sonoma Winery founded by winemaker Jesse Katz, is excited to announce the opening of a custom-designed hospitality center and modern winery opening on Old Redwood Highway in Healdsburg, CA in spring 2020.” READ WINE BUSINESS MONTHLY ARTICLE >

Becoming Devil Proof with California Malbec “Jesse Katz’s resume as a winemaker reads like a superstar in the making – from time spent at Pétrus in Bordeaux, California cult legend Screaming Eagle to stellar Argentina wineries Viña Cobos and Bodega Noemia.”
READ FORBES ARTICLE>

Raising a Glass, Remotely “This small but mighty Healdsburg winery — the founder, Jesse Katz, was the first winemaker to make the Forbes 30 Under 30 list “
READ NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE>