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Kale Anderson

Winemaker, Kale Wines

Kale Anderson grew up in Sonoma County, where he was exposed to the wine industry by a community that encouraged creativity, love for the outdoors, and stewardship of the land.

He attended UC Davis intending to pursue medicine, like his father had, but instead found himself drawn to Davis Plant Biology program. As an undergraduate Kale researched DNA repair in plants. He spent winters in Tahoe, and tried his hand at commercial fishing in Alaska during the summertime.

Feeling scientifically inspired but creatively unfulfilled, Kale transitioned into an interdisciplinary major in Nature and Culture. While changing his major, he stumbled upon an introductory course in Viticulture and Enology. It immediately struck him to be the most fascinating blend of nature and culture that he had experienced to date. This discovery set him on a focused trajectory toward winemaking.

Country born: United States

Education: In 2001, Kale took his first harvest internship at J Winery, Russian River. After graduating BS Viticulture and Enology, he worked at Colgin Cellars for Ann and Joe Wender, Terra Valentine Winery, Cliff Lede Vineyards in Stags Leap District and Pahlmeyer Winery. While Director of Winemaking at Pahlmeyer, Kale became one of the youngest winemakers to earn 100 points from Robert M. Parker, Jr. for the 2013 Pahlmeyer Cabernet Sauvignon Piece de Resistance, the first perfect score awarded to Pahlmeyer in their thirty year history. After fifteen vintages, Kale began consulting in 2016.

Years in the wine industry: 15-20 years

Winemaking Philosophy:
In 2008, Kale and his wife Ranko set out to create Rhone inspired wines from extraordinary vineyards in Northern California under their own label, Kale Wines. Specializing in small production, handcrafted wines, Kale utilizes new technologies as well as ancient techniques to express the unique vineyards' most delicious characteristics.