January 13th – Kale Anderson holds the prestigious honor of being one of the youngest winemakers in history to earn 100 pts from Robert M. Parker, Jr. He joined the Duncan Peak Vineyards brand as consulting winemaker in 2021 when the Duncan Peak vineyards relaunched after nearly a decade of dormancy. Kale has made wine for renowned wineries for over 20 years in Napa and Sonoma. Kale’s repertoire includes working with the brands J Winery, Colgin Cellars, Cliff lede Vineyards, Terra Valentine Winery, Pahlmeyer Winery, and his own brand Kale Wines.
In 2021 the Chinese-American brother-sister duo, Max Luo and Jane Jiang, relaunched the Duncan Peak Vineyards brand. With a focus on ultra-premium and exclusive wines, this boutique winery only makes 100 to 300 cases a year.
“Relaunching a brand is challenging, so we are grateful to have someone come into this position who has extensive experiences and shares in our vision,” said the Proprietor of Duncan Peak Vineyards, Jane Jiang, “We farm the land with a sustainable and balanced approach. The wines we make express the true terroir portfolio and represent the blood, sweat, and tears of the hardworking individuals of the Duncan Peak team.”
Over the past few years, Duncan Peak focused on enhancing its farming techniques and has successfully converted the vineyard to a CCOF organic certified. The team works closely with organic specialists to enable their farming to promote and benefit a living, breathing ecosystem. Proprietor Max Lou describes the overall approach of Duncan Peak as a “partnership” with nature, saying, “We strive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our practices. We use sheep for grazing our land and providing natural fertilizer, and our irrigation system uses gravity, not electricity, to water our vineyards.”
