November 13, 2025 (New York, NY) — Aperture Cellars is proud to announce that founder and first-generation winemaker Jesse Katz has been named the 2025 Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast within their renowned Wine Star Awards. Presented annually at the black-tie Wine Star Awards Gala, this distinction is among the most prestigious accolades in the global wine industry, recognizing individuals who demonstrate visionary leadership, innovation, and influence across both consumer and trade markets.
The Wine Star Awards selection process draws on input from Wine Enthusiast’s editorial, marketing, sales, and events teams, representing comprehensive industry acknowledgment. The honor underscores a winemaker’s exceptional consistency, dedication, and impact, often celebrating their role in shaping the identity of a region or defining a new style of winemaking.
Born in Boulder, Colorado, and raised traveling through legendary vineyards alongside his father, celebrated photographer Andy Katz, Jesse developed an early reverence for terroir, craftsmanship, and creative expression. His formative years among the world’s great wine estates, captured through his father’s lens, sparked a lifelong commitment to artistry and precision in winemaking.
After earning a degree in Viticulture and Enology from Fresno State, Jesse studied at Pétrus in Bordeaux, Screaming Eagle and Robert Foley in Napa Valley, and Viña Cobos and Bodega Noemia in Argentina. In 2010, he became the youngest head winemaker in the United States at Lancaster Estate, overseeing the construction of the Roth winery and leading all wines to 90+ scores from The Wine Advocate, including placement on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines. Jesse became the first winemaker ever featured on Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30,’ list and and his wines have set world records, including a $1 million Cabernet Sauvignon, the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. He was recognized by Wine Enthusiast for their ‘40 Under 40 Tastemaker’ list and was nominated for their ‘Wine Executive of the Year’ award in 2023. This dual nomination for two Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards (2025 Winemaker of the Year and
2023 Wine Executive of the Year) is something few winemakers ever achieve and serves to cement Jesse’s status as a trailblazer in the world of wine.
In 2009, Jesse founded Aperture Cellars in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley, a winery dedicated to producing expressive, terroir-driven wines that bridge the worlds of art and agriculture. Since its inception, Aperture has become one of the most acclaimed and dynamic wineries in California, known for its commitment to innovative winemaking, sustainable viticulture practices, and visual storytelling inspired by the photography of Andy Katz.
“As a first-generation winemaker, I don’t take this honor lightly. There was no family winery waiting for me, only a deep passion that began in the vineyards my father photographed. To have Wine Enthusiast recognize our work is a profound moment for me and for the entire Aperture team, whose dedication and precision make everything we do possible. We’ve always viewed wine as a lens, a way to see and experience a place more clearly, and this award inspires us to keep pushing boundaries, refining our craft, and telling the story of Sonoma through every bottle we produce.” — Jesse Katz, Founder and Winemaker of Aperture Cellars
In 2025, Jesse introduced Collage, the most ambitious and creatively inspired release in the Aperture portfolio to date. A culmination of years of precision farming across 200 acres and five appellations, including estate vines planted in 1912, the collection brings together the finest vineyard lots into two exceptional wines: Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Inspired by the avant-garde, Collage honors Sonoma’s rich diversity and celebrates wine as a form of cultural expression. The Cabernet Sauvignon ages 22 months in barrel, six months in custom cement vessels, and a year in bottle, resulting in an elegant and transcendent expression of time, place, and intention.
Over the years, Jesse’s wines have achieved historic acclaim. His Aperture Chenin Blanc holds the highest Wine Enthusiast rating ever awarded to the varietal in California, and the 2021 Aperture Farrow Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is the first Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon to earn 100-points in Wine Enthusiast’s history. His Devil Proof Farrow Ranch Malbec earned perfect 100-point scores from both Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Jeb Dunnuck, who called it “one of the greatest Malbecs ever produced.” Aperture’s 2020 Del Rio Cabernet Sauvignon, also rated 100-points by Dunnuck, remains the only wine from the 2020 vintage to achieve a perfect score and the first Cabernet Sauvignon in Alexander Valley’s history to do so.
With a career spanning 26 harvests across four continents, Jesse Katz continues to redefine modern winemaking through a balance of innovation, authenticity, and artistic vision. His recognition as Winemaker of the Year marks not only a milestone for Aperture Cellars but also a defining moment for the evolution of Sonoma wine.
With a reputation for excellence and discretion, Jesse has become the go-to vintner for Hollywood royalty, sports legends, and culinary stars. His roster of bespoke collaborations includes Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Ellen De Generes, Von Miller, Reggie Jackson, the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Lakers, and iconic destinations such as Montage Resorts, Yellowstone Club, SingleThread and Alinea. Jesse also consults for some of the most prosperous wine brands and luxury hospitality companies in the world such as The Setting Wines, Aesthete, Valette Wines, Prophet & Poet, Montage Healdsburg, and Sign of the Dove.
To commemorate this milestone, Jesse is sharing an exceptionally limited vertical collection of his flagship Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon, featuring three benchmark vintages that trace the evolution of his winemaking journey. Winemaker of the Year sets are available here https://aperture-cellars.com/exclusive-set/
For more information, please contact Sarah Gargano at sarah@sarahgargano.com
ABOUT APERTURE CELLARS
Aperture Cellars, founded in 2009 by first-generation winemaker Jesse Katz, is dedicated to crafting a range of expressive, world-class Bordeaux-style wines from Sonoma County’s premier cool-climate vineyard sites. Working with over 200 vineyard acres, including the Aperture Estate, located in Healdsburg, California, and home to a 24,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art winery and a 4,000 sq. ft. hospitality space with art gallery, Aperture serves as an incubator for artistic and vinous expression.
Rooted in his early adventures to legendary vineyards and wineries around the world with his father, celebrated photographer Andy Katz, Jesse cultivated an enviable international wine education and was inspired by the terroir, balance, and creativity of wine making that has set him on a path he has pursued ever since. Each wine label features an original Andy Katz photograph demonstrating every Aperture wine as an expression of art both inside and out. With inspiration driven from the physical aperture of a camera, an ode to Jesse’s father, the estate’s buildings showcase dramatic angles, clean lines and a focus on natural light. The estate translates the global experience and vision of father and son into architecture.
Aperture meticulously oversees every aspect of farming across their Sonoma County properties, including their winery estate in Healdsburg’s Russian River Valley appellation and their Alexander Valley estate property of Farrow Ranch. The winery has set numerous records from consumers and wine critics, earning dozens of 100-point scores, including the first perfect score ever for Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec in the Alexander Valley appellation. In addition to hosting daily wine tasting experiences (by appointment), Aperture Estate is available to host custom events and private experiences.
For more information, please visit https://aperture-cellars.com.
