Jesse Katz, Aperture, and the Long View of Sonoma Cabernet
Jesse Katz, Aperture, and the Long View of Sonoma Cabernet
By Jeremy Young
There are winemakers who build careers around tradition, and then there are winemakers who seem to build their own gravitational pull. Jesse Katz falls into the second category.
As the founder and head winemaker of Aperture Cellars in Healdsburg, Katz has become one of the most compelling figures in modern California wine, especially for those of us watching Sonoma’s continued evolution as a world-class home for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux-inspired wines. My recent vertical tasting of Aperture’s Oliver Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon, spanning 2014 through 2024, offered a rare opportunity to see that evolution in the glass. More than anything, it showed a winery that has not simply improved with time, but has become more precise, more confident, and more expressive with each vintage.
Katz’s story starts far from the usual path of inherited vineyards or a family estate. A Colorado native, he was introduced to wine through the lens of his father, Andy Katz, the acclaimed photographer whose work took the family through many of the world’s great wine regions. Burgundy, Tuscany, Bordeaux, California, Argentina, and beyond all became part of Jesse’s early education. Those travels gave him something many winemakers spend decades trying to develop: a deep instinct for place.
That connection between place and image still defines Aperture today. Every bottle features original photography by Andy Katz, and the winery itself feels as much like a gallery as a cellar. But this is not branding layered on top of the wine. It is part of the winery’s entire point of view. Aperture is built around the idea that wine, like photography, captures a specific moment, a specific setting, and a specific perspective. The name itself is a direct nod to the camera aperture, the mechanism that controls light, focus, and depth. It is a fitting metaphor for a winery that has become known for clarity, precision, and detail.
Jesse’s formal path took him through Fresno State’s Department of Viticulture and Enology, followed by time with some of the most influential names in wine. He’s studied at Pétrus in Bordeaux, Screaming Eagle and Robert Foley in Napa Valley, and Viña Cobos and Bodega Noemia in Argentina. Those experiences gave him a global understanding of what great wine can be, but his own voice ultimately found its footing in Sonoma.
In 2009, Katz founded Aperture Cellars with the goal of making Bordeaux-style wines from cooler-climate sites for those varietals in Sonoma County. At the time, Sonoma was certainly respected, but Cabernet Sauvignon was still widely viewed through a Napa Valley lens. Katz saw something different. He believed the right hillsides, elevations, volcanic soils, clay loams, and cooler exposures could produce wines with both California fruit and old-world structure. That idea now feels obvious because the wines have proven it, but it was not obvious when Aperture began.
His career accelerated quickly. In 2010, he became the youngest head winemaker in the United States when he took the role at Lancaster Estate. During his five-year tenure, the wines received consistent critical praise, and Lancaster Estate earned a place on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines list. In 2013, Wine Enthusiast named him one of its 40 Under 40 Tastemakers. In 2014, Forbes made him the first winemaker ever selected for its 30 Under 30 list. Since then, the momentum has only grown.
Today, Katz’s résumé is almost impossible to summarize without sounding exaggerated. His wines have received over 45 100-point scores from major critics, including multiple perfect scores from me. He produced the first 100-point Malbec in U.S. history through Devil Proof Vineyards and what I consider the best Malbec in the United States, or perhaps even the world. Aperture’s 2020 Del Rio Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon became the first 100-point Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley. The 2021 Farrow Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon became the first Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon to earn a perfect score from Wine Enthusiast. He was named Wine Enthusiast’s 2025 Winemaker of the Year, and Aperture Cellars was ranked No. 14 on the World’s 50 Best Vineyards list in 2025, also receiving the Highest New Entry Award.
Then there is The Setting Wines, which he co-owns with Noah McMahon and Jeff Cova. In 2017, The Setting earned headlines for producing the most expensive 750ml bottle of wine ever sold. In 2021, Katz broke that record when a six-liter bottle of 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon sold for $1 million at a charity auction. That sort of headline can easily overshadow the quieter work happening in the vineyard and cellar, but in Katz’s case, the record feels less like spectacle and more like a byproduct of demand, reputation, and timing.
The wines remain the center of gravity.
At Aperture, Cabernet Sauvignon is the signature, but the winery’s strength comes from its broader vineyard philosophy. Aperture works with estate and long-term leased sites across Sonoma County, including Alexander Valley, Bennett Valley, Russian River Valley, and other carefully selected areas. The vineyards are chosen for site distinction, not convenience. Elevation, soil, exposure, and climate all matter. Katz has also worked closely with famed viticulture consultant Phil Freese, whose background includes Robert Mondavi, Opus One, and To Kalon. That level of vineyard expertise is critical to understanding why Aperture’s wines have become so consistent.
Aperture’s estate in Healdsburg adds another layer to the story. The historic Ponzo Vineyard property, with old vines dating back to 1912, is now home to the Aperture Estate, a state-of-the-art winery and hospitality center that opened in 2020. Designed by Signum Architecture, the building mirrors the visual language of a camera aperture with clean lines, dramatic angles, and natural light. Inside, the space brings together wine, photography, and hospitality in a way that feels intentional rather than decorative. It is modern, but not cold. Luxurious, but still connected to the land.
That same mindset shows up in Katz’s newest and most ambitious projects, including Collage. The 2023 Collage wines have been described as a culmination of the winery’s best vineyard lots across multiple appellations, produced only when the vintage warrants it. Katz has spoken about 2023 as one of the most exciting California vintages in recent memory, marked by a long, cool growing season, lower sugars, higher acidity, and the kind of freshness that rewards patience. That detail matters because it mirrors what makes the best Aperture wines so compelling. They are polished and generous, but they are not built solely around ripeness. There is structure, lift, and longevity.
That is exactly what stood out in tasting through the Oliver Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon vertical.
A vertical tasting like this does more than show vintage variation. It reveals intent. Across the 2014 to 2024 wines, there is a clear throughline of dark fruit, mineral tension, refined tannin work, and a sense of site specificity that becomes more articulate over time. The earlier wines show the foundation of the program, while the more recent vintages reflect a winery operating with remarkable precision. The wines have gained polish without losing energy. They carry depth without feeling heavy. They show the confidence of a winemaker who understands that great Cabernet is not just about concentration, but about proportion.
That is the larger story of Jesse Katz and Aperture. The accolades are real and significant, but they are not the reason the wines matter. The wines matter because they are helping expand the conversation around what Sonoma Cabernet can be. They are pushing beyond the old binary of Napa power versus Sonoma elegance and showing that the best sites in Sonoma can deliver both structure and grace, both intensity and restraint.
Katz often talks about not having made his best wine yet. That might sound like the sort of thing a high-achieving winemaker is expected to say, but tasting through a decade of Oliver Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon gives the statement weight. There is ambition here, but it feels disciplined. There is artistry, but it is grounded in farming. There is luxury, but it is not hollow.
For those who follow California Cabernet closely, Aperture is no longer an emerging name. It is one of the benchmarks. And Jesse Katz, still very much in motion, has become one of the defining winemakers of his generation.
Vintage Reports: Oliver’s Ranch, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County
2014
The third consecutive drought year pushed harvest a week to ten days early, with clean fruit, no disease pressure, and smaller, concentrated berries. The result was well-structured Alexander Valley Cabernets with ripe tannins and depth of dark fruit, the third strong vintage in a row following 2012 and 2013.
2015
A warm winter, cool spring, and summer heat waves brought in smaller yields than the years before, but what the vines produced was impressive: expressive aromatics, phenolic complexity, and serious tannic structure. Alexander Valley shone particularly bright, turning out full-bodied Cabernets built to last.
2016
Widely considered a generational vintage. A cool, extended finish to another dry season gave grapes time to develop full flavor complexity without overcooking. The resulting wines show exceptional balance and longevity, with fine-grained tannins and clarity of fruit. The consensus among those who tasted it young was simple: this one would age well.
2017
Scorching August temperatures pushed growers to start picking over Labor Day weekend. The harvest was largely complete before the devastating October wildfires, so smoke was not a factor. The wines reflect the heat: riper and bolder than surrounding vintages, forward and accessible, with warmth built into the fruit profile.
2018
One of the more relaxed growing seasons of the decade. Moderate summer temperatures and a long ripening window gave growers the luxury of patience. Most of Sonoma’s harvest was finished before October wildfires struck again. The resulting Cabernets are approachable and well-structured, with good balance and consistent quality across the appellation.
2019
Near-ideal from start to finish. Early-season rains gave way to a warm, even summer, with morning fog preserving natural acidity and aromatic intensity. The growing season was long, the harvest unhurried, and most fruit was in before late-October fires. Precise, expressive, and built to age, 2019 is a reference-point year for Alexander Valley.
2020
The hardest vintage of the decade. August and September wildfires blanketed Northern California in smoke, forcing winemakers to make fast decisions about when to pull fruit. Many lots were declassified due to smoke taint. Instead of a single-vineyard release, Aperture used the 2020 Oliver Ranch fruit as a key component in the broader 2020 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon blend. For that vintage, they blended fruit from Del Rio, Oliver Ranch, SJ Ranch, and the 1912 Estate Vineyards to create a single, unified offering.
2021
Drought conditions produced smaller berries with thick skins and remarkable flavor density. Yields ran roughly 15 percent below average, which translated directly into intensity in the glass. Mild harvest temperatures preserved freshness and acidity. Among the best Alexander Valley vintages of the decade, with refined tannins, dark fruit, and impressive length.
2022
A parched winter and early-season heat spike accelerated ripening, bringing in a fast, intense harvest. Fruit arrived small, potent, and concentrated, with natural sugar running ahead of schedule. Bold and firmly structured, with cassis and firm tannins up front, Alexander Valley was the top-performing appellation in tastings of the 2022 vintage. These wines reward patience.
2023
Multiple rain events and cool temperatures gave 2023 a character not seen in Alexander Valley in nearly two decades. Slow, deliberate ripening produced wines with transparency and precision, with acidity carrying the fruit cleanly through the palate. After the power and concentration of 2021 and 2022, this was a year about elegance over muscle.
2024
Early reports call 2024 one of the best quality vintages in nearly 50 years for Alexander Valley. Mild daytime temperatures and cool nights through harvest allowed growers to pick at peak maturity while retaining high natural acids. The result is wines where freshness and concentration work in tandem, a near-textbook expression of what the appellation can do.