Hear The Story Behind This Flourishing Art-Forward California Winery

In wine terms, terroir refers to the factors that go into grape growing such as soil and climate, elements that will ultimately be expressed in the glass. When you hear the life story of winemaker Jesse Katz, it’s easy to see how his personal terroir brought him to where he is today: founding and leading Aperture Cellars, a Healdsburg winery that produces Bordeaux-style varietals with an architecture and art-forward tasting room. The winemaker’s story begins on the road with his photographer father, Andy Katz. When Jesse was a child, he tagged along as Andy photographed world-class wineries in Europe and California. The younger Katz became fascinated with the business, and a winemaker was born. Those early influences of art and wine are expressed at every turn in Aperture Cellars’ tasting room, designed by Napa-based Signum Architecture. The modern building is inspired by a camera’s aperture and houses a gallery of Andy’s work. His photos also grace the wine labels on Aperture Cellars’ bottles. “To me, making wine is an expression of art and agriculture,” Jesse says. “We’ve manifested that here.”