Celebrated winemaker Kristof Nils Anderson
has been quietly, steadily crafting an extraordinary range of acclaimed, ultra-premium wines in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys since 1992. His wines received 8 “Best Wine” citations in Karen MacNeil’s The Wine Bible, 2nd Edition, including Best Producers of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon & Bordeaux Blends and Merlot, The Top Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, and The Sonoma Wines to Know. And, in the newly-minted 3rd edition, we are delighted to read that Kristof’s Baker Lane Vineyard Syrah, made for Scribe Winery, is named one of “The Great Sonoma Wines.” Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon wines made by Kristof are listed under “Best Producers in California.”
As winemaker and protégé of consultant Nils Venge from 1995 through 2000, Kristof made wine for Saddleback Cellars, Venge, PlumpJack, Del Dotto, Carter Cellars and others, before leaving to become head winemaker for Lewis Cellars in 2001 and 2002. Founding winemaker for both Scribe Winery in Sonoma and Gargiulo Vineyards in Oakville, Kristof’s history and talents run deep.
Kristof’s expertise extends to all phases of wine and vineyard consulting, including winery and vineyard design, development and planting of estate vineyards, and establishing a distinctive winemaking style for world-class wines. He is also responsible for managing multiple vineyards and production crews, including all phases of growing, harvesting, production, blending and bottling wine.
Current and past clients reflect a broad range of styles, from the powerful Stag's Leap District Bordeaux blends of Robinson Family Vineyards, to the elegant coastal Pinot Noirs of Carlo and Dante Mondavi’s RAEN, ranked #10 on James Suckling’s Top 100 Wines of the USA, to the kaleidoscope of innovative, non-interventionalist wines at Scribe Winery in Sonoma. Kristof is potentially available for consulting in all areas of winemaking; it’s just a matter of being a good fit.
Inquiries: info@pellawine.com
The Art of Winemaking: Preserving What Nature Provides
Wines by Kristof. In addition to working as a consultant winemaker, Kristof created his own brand to share wines driven by a winemaker’s perspective and experience - in the vineyard, cellar, and lab.
Love for art, architecture, science and agriculture led Kristof to winemaking, and his methods are uniquely autodidactic, combining years of hands-on cellar work, laboratory experience at ETS Wine Labs in St. Helena, and formal training at UC Davis. Great wines are grown in the vineyard, and he credits time spent in the vineyard with taking his wines to the next level. “I’ve learned more from grape growers about making great wine than from anybody else,” Kristof says.
“I have a resumé, and you can drink it.”
On Kristof’s Baker Lane Vineyard Syrah for Scribe Winery:
“Every time I taste this wine, I cannot write a tasting note fast enough, as the flavors explode in every direction—black raspberries, black pepper, black olives, orange peel, tea, menthol, vanilla, wet rocks, meat juices, a whole kitchen cabinet full of spices, and something deliciously umami. But perhaps the most compelling aspect of the wine is its aliveness. That lit-from-within quality. That cool energy, the kind that’s in the air before a thunderstorm…”
—MacNeil, Karen. The Wine Bible, 3rd Edition (p. 518). Workman Publishing Company. Kindle Edition.