Stephen Millier
USA
Your most popular winemaker
- Stephen is no stranger to gold medals, but usually his prestigious employers are the only ones in the limelight.
- We offered Stephen some Angel funding to set aside some of his favorites wines and vineyards to make a special range with his name on the label just for us, and he jumped at the opportunity.
- If you like underdogs, Stephen's your man. He will find the over-looked and under-appreciated and he will take precious care to make sure they grow into big, beautiful wines that deserve more attention.
- "Best of California" in 2012, David was Director of Winemaking for Robert Mondavi's Woodbridge for 25 years.
- He was at the helm of Lodi's largest winery and is a fastidious and dedicated winemaker, the kind you expect to find in the world's most competitive and prestigious wine regions.
- David is a master in an undiscovered region. If you like to taste the next big thing while it's still totally underground, he is your winemaker.
Scott Peterson
USA
Defining California winemaking. Rich, generous and full-throttle.
293,871 Ratings
41,158 Followers
Scott spent over 20 years making wine for storied Sonoma wineries like Kendall-Jackson and Buena Vista – as well as Argentina’s Nicolás Catena Family of Wines and Chile’s Axel and La Playa Wines – before Angel support allowed him to march to his own drum.
Scott loves working with Angel funding because you allow him to make the wines he wants to. He's old school, and he doesn't want to make new styles just because they’re trendy.
If you like gloriously decadent, no-holds-barred wines, buy everything Scott makes. You will not regret it.
Karen Birmingham
USA
She's an award-winning Lodi expert and your 5th Annual Winemaker of the Year!
293,234 Ratings
42,664 Followers
- Karen Birmingham proved her incredible talent working for years at sustainable winery LangeTwins (with David Akiyoshi).
- Angel funding has helped her start her own project featuring breathtaking grape varieties many Lodi wineries are afraid of playing with!
- Karen's delicate touch always brings out the best in the fruit (she's won back-to-back Gold and Double Gold medals to prove it!) and really makes these grapes shine in the warm, sandy soils she calls home.
Stephen & Jamie de Wet
South Africa
Father-son duo behind South Africa's biggest-selling wines
275,750 Ratings
42,265 Followers
The de Wet’s are one of the longest-serving and most successful winemaking families in Robertson Valley. With your funding, they’ve built a world-famous brand in Arabella – and the highest-rated, best-selling regional Reserve Cab in Naked history.
Stephen’s made wine from the family vineyard since the tender age of 17 and he’s passed his passion onto son Jamie, who now makes wines hand-in-hand with Dad at the de Wet’s 16th-generation family farm.
...and thanks to Angels, the de Wet boys make more crowd-pleasing Arabella wines than pretty much all your winemakers put together. To be precise – in a stacking contest, the total number of wines they’ve made for you beats the height of 226 Everests. Talk about the peak of a career!
Benjamin Darnault
France
Magician of the Minervois, French winemaker extraordinaire
257,540 Ratings
39,722 Followers
- Consulting enologist Benjamin Darnault has clients all over the South of France, which means he gets to cherry-pick the very best grapes the region has to offer.
- When you gave Ben the money he needed to set up on his own, you made his dream come true. Your reward is superb wines from Minervois and beyond at astonishing prices..
- With Angel funding, Ben maintains ongoing relationships with the best growers – even paying above market to support them long term. And it's made him a bonafide Naked icon!
- It started as a few odd jobs in the cellar, and turned into a winemaking gig. Over 30 years later, Sharon can't imagine ever wanting to do anything else.
- Sharon's responsible for making some seriously great wines for others – thousands over her 30-year career. But she's always disappointed after the wine's shipped off... all that hard work, and she never hears what becomes of it!
- Now that you've made her an independent winemaker, she loves sharing her big, enthusiastic winemaking style with Angels – and hearing what you think!
Matt Parish
USA
International all-star and former Chief Winemaker for star-studded wineries and famous Napa wines
191,575 Ratings
32,419 Followers
- After decades overseeing the winemaking of iconic American wine brands like Beringer and Stags’ Leap Winery, Matt launched his own brand with Angels' support, and quickly became an independent icon.
- Each of Matt's wines is his interpretation of a vineyard, region, variety and style guided by one constant...
- Make, blend and bottle absolute pleasure – and Matt delivers – as evidenced by his numerous 95+ ratings and wines that quickly sell out.
Jacqueline Bahue
USA
An incredible Napa talent - you discovered her first!
169,035 Ratings
27,424 Followers
Jacqueline landed a prestigious winemaking gig in her early twenties - and has spent a decade’s worth of harvests in wine capitals including Umbria, Ribera del Duero, Hawke’s Bay, Sonoma and Napa, collaborating with hundreds of Angel-funded winemakers along the way. To say she’s a brilliant talent is putting it lightly!
- You put her in charge of the winemaking team at your Angel-funded winery, where she built a state-of-the-art facility from scratch. In the 4 years she spent working as your Director of Winemaking, she nurtured thousands of your exclusive wines from barrel to bottle – including her own decadent Pinot and Cabernet Franc with skyrocketing ratings.
Now, Jacqueline’s set on her next adventure, and she’s crafting regionally-focused wines from across California. Keep your eye on her – we’re prepared for this woman to take over the world.
You freed a powerhouse Washington winemaker – Dave Harvey is quite the catch.
With your backing, he's combing the state – from the Columbia Valley river basin to southern Walla Walla – to make Northwest classics (and seriously shocking red blends, too... like his signature GSMmm Syrah!)
He's already clinched a Decanter award for the “Best Rhône varietal wine in the world.” Mark our words - now that Dave has Angel funding, that’s just a drop in the bucket.
