Doug Olson
Our winemaker, Doug Olson, began winemaking in the cellar at Revana Estate in Saint Helena. After working there, he moved to Bordeaux France where he received a Masters of Science in Viticulture and Enology from both Bordeaux Sciences Agro, a Grande Ecole, as well as from the Institute des Sciences du Vigne et duVin, one of the country’s leading wine research centers. After his time in Bordeaux, Doug moved to Sonoma, California where he completed his thesis at DuMOL Winery. His thesis research studied the management of phenolic compounds in single vineyard Pinot Noir during fermentation.
Emmy Neighbors
Our assistant winemaker, Emmy Neighbors, joined us in 2024. Born and raised in Saginaw, Michigan, Emmy began her wine career as a wine manager and educator in Chicago’s restaurant scene. In 2019, she moved to Santa Barbara wine country, where she discovered a passion for both wine production and viticulture. Her winemaking experience has focused exclusively on small, family-owned estates committed to organic and Biodynamic practices. Emmy holds the WSET Level 3 Award in wines. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University Chicago.
The Winery
The winery, located on East Amore Road in Lake Leelanau, is an 8000+ square foot facility that features state of the art processing, production and aging equipment.
Winery equipment is all connected wirelessly for remote monitoring of winemaking activities including pressing and fermentation aging.
The lab features a virtual cellar to monitor the progress of fermentation as well as rapid (under 2 mins /sample) chemical analysis of juice and wine samples. Color and sulfur levels are also monitored in the lab.
More on our winemaking – checkout our blog