This week we are honoring 3 talented winemakers from the 2018 UC Davis Viticulture and Enology Master's program. Their dynamism and their visions of current and future viticulture in the United States make them leaders in the renaissance of American winemaking. For them, "The Natural Wine" movement is not so new, they will even say that it is ancient history.

Corinne Rich and Katie Rouse

Birdhorse Wines

Corinne rich and Katie Rouse met in the early hours of their school adventures at UC Davis. They graduated in 2018, and after wine stints in South Africa, Burgundy, California, and Oregon, they returned home to California to launch Birdhorse Wines.

Corinne was born and raised in Sonoma. After studying chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and a short career in pharmaceutical research, she returned to California where she plunged headfirst into the fabulous world of viticulture, and then winemaking. She is now the co-owner of Birdhorse, but also the assistant winemaker at Scribe Winery in Sonoma.

Katie was born and raised in a winemaking family in the state of Virginia. After studying geology, she naturally turned to viticulture and spent a few years in various vineyards on the American West Coast before deciding to do her master's degree at UC Davis. The rest is history. Katie is now, in addition to her work at Birdhorse, the assistant winemaker at Bedrock Wine Co in Sonoma. What you may not know is that this partnership is not only "business", but also "a life contract" because Katie and Corinne will be getting married on May 18th in Virginia. Congratulations and we wish you a long and happy life together!

Birdhorse represents a vision for the future of California winemaking, one rooted in a passion for diversification, by showcasing the regions, grape varieties and humans that have long been present in this industry but have yet to be celebrated by many of its constituents. Birdhorse is driven by intellectual curiosity, transparency, science, and data, but most importantly by the eagerness to make delicious wines and share them with the larger public. Birdhorse Wines is a desire for understanding, based on their own experience and perception, fueled by their imaginations.

Emily Fernwood

Osa Major Wines

A native of the California Bay Area, Emily spent the years after college traveling and working all over the world, from California and Oregon to Australia and New Zealand. Like Corrine and Katie, she graduated in 2018 from UC Davis from the same Viticulture and Enology Master's program. In 2020, she founded Osa Major Wines, which is still a one-woman business – from transporting grapes by truck, to selling bottles, and everything in between. Her work reflects a need to explore the incredible variety of geology and history that can be found in the vineyards of some of California's well-known and lesser-known wine regions. Her wines explore a lighter and brighter side of winemaking, with a fair and modern approach, without being provocative or inadequate. They are dynamic, friendly wines in a classist modernity.

Osa Major

From the vineyard to the cellar, winemaking is, in essence, the act of finding balance between controlling nature's chaotic tendencies and allowing the marvel of growth and fermentation take the lead.  Every year, every vineyard, and every fermentation is a glimpse into an infinite number of small miracles.  To that end, each decision we make serves to guide, to protect, and to achieve a desired style, but never to hide or excessively manipulate, choosing to forgo the arsenal of additives that are commonly found in commercial wine.  She chooses growers who have deep connections to their vineyards and an enduring commitment to the health of the land they farm and are proud to bring them in their pure form to you.