Aperture Cellars Announces July 9th Grand Opening of the Aperture Estate

Healdsburg’s Newest Appointment-Only Winery Gears Up To Accept First Visitors 

Healdsburg Calif., June 17, 2020 — Aperture Cellars (https://www.aperture-cellars.com/), the renowned Sonoma Bordeaux-focused label founded by winemaker Jesse Katz, is excited to announce that it will be opening the Aperture Estate on July 9th. The stunning new space, which had been under construction since 2018 on Healdsburg’s Old Redwood Highway, is the culmination of Katz’s 11 years of work with Aperture and the first dedicated winery and hospitality center for the label. The Aperture Estate’s buildings showcase dramatic angles and clean lines, while the 4,000 square ft. hospitality center places an important focus on natural light. Once open, the hospitality center will be operating fully in compliance with the evolving safety standards and protocols distributed by Sonoma County for wineries. Photographs of the space are available at this link.  

“We are thrilled to finally share this space with Healdsburg and the California wine community at large,” notes Jesse Katz, “We have been waiting a long time to host guests at the Aperture Estate, and we are delighted to soon show guests and friends a transportive hospitality experience that highlights our soil and site-specific wines and our partnerships with local artisans that give Sonoma such a sense of place.”

Designed with every detail of the visitor experience in mind, the Aperture Estate will be offering curated wine and food experiences in a modern setting, featuring a seated tasting bar, private spaces for elevated tasting experiences, and an outdoor terrace overlooking the estate vineyards facing west toward the Russian River. “The Aperture Estate’s hospitality center was designed with private tasting experiences in mind,” notes VP Lauren Wong, “so there is little we will have to change from our original concept to follow proper protocols for customer and staff safety.” Each of the spaces features its own unique atmosphere focused on art, travel, and the architecture of the surrounding vineyards visible through the floor to ceiling windows. The art installations will feature the photography of Jesse’s father, renowned wine photographer Andy Katz. 

The space was designed by Signum Architecture (http://www.signumarchitecture.com/index.html), the firm that was behind Odette Winery, Nine Suns, Cade, Melka Estate, Brand, and Hall, with inspiration derived from the physical aperture of a camera. The Estate’s new winemaking facility—which processed its first harvest last fall—contains some of the most groundbreaking winemaking technology arguably in the world, with optical sorting tables, remotely-operated fermentation tanks with automatic pump-overs, and five separate climate-controlled rooms for vinification and aging. 

The Aperture Estate joins the renaissance and revival of the Healdsburg tourism boom, adding a uniquely curated and elevated offering to the region’s expanding luxury hospitality scene. In addition to its lineup of award-winning wines (including Wine Advocate’s highest-rated Californian Malbec of all time), the Aperture Estate will also be showcasing a variety of local culinary partners through custom food and wine pairings and regular chef dinners and events. 

Beyond opening the Aperture Estate, the team is in the process of executing a variety of community initiatives and local partnerships that have contributed $500,000 to a variety of charities over the last 5 years. During the shelter in place order, the winery also partnered with Michelin-starred chefs on virtual tastings to support local charities combating the fallout from COVID-19.

Those interested in booking an appointment for a tasting at the Aperture Estate can visit https://aperture-cellars.com/visit/ or call 707-200-7891. Experiences are by appointment-only. 

About Aperture Cellars

Aperture Cellars champions a range of stunning Bordeaux style wines from the Sonoma Valley. Founded in 2009 by winemaker Jesse Katz, Aperture wines are crafted from unique, cool-climate vineyards in Sonoma’s top regions. Aperture controls 140+ acres of vineyards, in addition to their 32 planted acres on the estate site, specifically sourced for their unique terroir and soil composition. Wanting to craft wines on par with the quality and refinement that are so integral to a Bordeaux, Jesse set roots in Sonoma, believing it offers the best of both worlds: new world fruit and old-world elegance.