NAPA VALLEY, Calif. – August 21, 2018 – Napa Valley’s Cuvaison Estate Wines, which includes the iconic Cuvaison winery in Los Carneros, and acclaimed Mount Veeder winery Brandlin Vineyard, is excited to announce that it is working with Consulting Winemaker Scott McLeod and Consulting Viticulturist Kelly Maher. The addition of McLeod and Maher to the Cuvaison Estate Wines team is part of an unprecedented period of investment in talent and resources at both Cuvaison and Brandlin under President and CEO Dan Zepponi. This includes extensive replanting of Cuvaison’s renowned 200-acre Los Carneros estate, the unveiling of new branding and packaging for Cuvaison, a new website, and significant investments in the winemaking and hospitality programs for both wineries.
“This is an extremely exciting time in the five-decade history of our family-owned company,” said Zepponi, who joined the company in 2016. “With the 50th anniversary of Cuvaison’s founding in 1969 right around the corner, we are writing a new chapter in our story. Scott and Kelly are world-class talents who I’ve known for many years, and who bring a vast amount of knowledge and experience to Cuvaison and Brandlin. In collaboration with the historic knowledge of our talented winemaker, Steve Rogstad, and our vineyard team, Scott and Kelly are evaluating all of our viticultural and winemaking practices, with the goal of ensuring that we are making the most compelling, complex and delicious vineyard-driven wines possible from our two winery estates.”
A highly respected consulting winemaker, McLeod spent three years making wine in Italy before joining Rubicon Estate as director of winemaking—a position he held for 18 years. Throughout his career, McLeod gained extensive experience working with luxury Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and in 2009, he was honored as “Winemaker of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. In addition to his consulting winemaking business, in 2010, McLeod cofounded WINEXRAY, a company that combines rigorous science and engineering standards to artisanal winemaking practices.
Maher brings an equally illustrious background to his role at Cuvaison. Following a six-year tenure as director of vineyard operations at Domaine Chandon, where he gained extensive experience working with Los Carneros Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Maher established his own viticultural consulting company in 2002. In the years since, Maher has worked with noted wineries like Futo Wines, Dunn Vineyards and Hourglass, as well as wineries in Australia, Argentina and France.
“Cuvaison is an iconic winery, with continuous family ownership for nearly 50 years, and more than 200 acres of estate vineyards on some of the most coveted land in Los Carneros. This is a truly rare ensemble of attributes,” said McLeod. “Kelly and I are very excited to contribute to the legacies of both Cuvaison and Brandlin, and to help both achieve their full potential as benchmarks for their regions.”
ABOUT CUVAISON ESTATE WINES
Cuvaison Estate Wines is an independent, family-owned Napa Valley wine company. Established in 1969, with the founding of Cuvaison winery in Napa Valley, today Cuvaison Estate Wines also includes Brandlin Vineyard on Mount Veeder. With an estate program that includes Cuvaison’s historic Los Carneros vineyard, which features over 200 planted acres largely devoted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the 48-acre Brandlin Vineyard on Mount Veeder, which is primarily planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and other red Bordeaux varieties, Cuvaison Estate Wines exclusively makes ultra-premium, estate-grown wines. For more information, visit cuvaison.com and brandlinvineyard.com.
