Destino Wines, whose names comes from the Spanish word for fate or destiny, was founded by Christopher Calkins, a former restaurateur, co-founder of a regional chain of specialty coffee stores, and long-time wine aficionado. Christopher was inspired to produce an ultra-premium California chardonnay in 1997 upon tasting a bottle of Le Montrachet, while a love of Napa Valley cabernets completed his vision of Destino Wines. In addition to serving as winemaker for Destino Wines, Ken Bernards produces his own highly acclaimed wines under the Ancien label and has put his talented stamp on many other wineries, including Truchard, Domaine Carneros, and Whitford Cellars. Destino Wines are sourced from vineyards in Napa Valley and Sonoma County, which are owned by six different families with whom Destino Wines has cultured relationships. Destino’s chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon are not vineyard-designated, as the philosophy of the Destino team is to utilize all available components to the benefit of each wine. Christopher Calkins is also the founder of Artistic Wines, a group of independent winemakers that serves as a forum in which participating members share talents and opinions. Some of the wineries that belong to Artistic Wines include Chris’ own Destino Wines, Ancien Wines, Matetic Vineyards, JC Cellars, Richard Perry Vineyards, and Spencer Roloson Winery. For more information about Destino Wines, visit www.destinowines.com. For more information about Artistic Wines, visit www.artisticwines.com.
 

Spencer Roloson Winery is the partnership of Samuel Spencer, winemaker, and Wendy Roloson, marketer. Sam has spent the last decade immersed in the wine business. His ventures have been extensive: New Zealand, San Francisco, Argentina, Chile, Spain, the Napa Valley, and Clear Lake, California. Growing and making wine in Mount St. Helena and Clear Lake, he has found his calling on the volcanic hillsides of Northern California. Sam’s enthusiasm for the complex farming of these extremist sites borders on the fanatical. Over the last five years, he has designed and developed two extraordinary vineyard projects: La Herradura Vineyard in the Conn Valley and Madder Lake Vineyard to the north of Mount St. Helena. Sam oversees all the winemaking and growing decisions in each of Spencer Roloson’s vineyards. Wendy brings invaluable discipline and perspective to the wine industry with her experience in finance, brand management, and product development. Intrigued by the dynamics of the wine industry, she was inspired to move to northern California, where she earned a strategic consulting position with a respected San Francisco wine importer. After consulting on business and marketing strategies for several small wineries, Wendy founded Spencer Roloson Winery with Sam in 1998 to complete the circle of involvement, as a proprietor, in the production of fine wines. Wendy oversees all the strategic and marketing decisions of the winery. For more information, visit www.spencerroloson.com.