Laura Diaz Munoz

Winemaker, Galerie

Laura Diaz Munhoz has loved wine since her first sip of Albari??o. She vividly recalls summer vacations with her family in northern Spain, sharing sips from her father???s wineglass as they watched the fresh seafood arrive on the fishing boats. Combining her early epicurean interests with practical strengths in science, she chose Food Science as an undergraduate focus, but discovered her true vocation while interning in the lab of a consulting winemaker. The moment she tried her hand at winemaking, she knew she had found her medium as an artist.
Laura quickly changed gears and completed a graduate degree in enology at the Polytechnic University of Madrid to pursue her new course. She honed her technical skills as her first job in La Mancha, mastering essential techniques of the discipline at Finca Otero. A few years later, she left Spain to find new inspiration and lessons in other wine regions around the world.
Her work at Isabel Estate Vineyards in the Marlborough region of New Zealand drove home for her the fundamental importance of terroir, and how dramatically different the same varietal can be when grown in different soil conditions regardless of the techniques used. At her subsequent engagement with Calina, Winery in Chile, she learned how culture and past experience inform a person???s enjoyment of wine, sometimes limiting and sometimes enhancing their ability to appreciate new styles. Her next job working in Napa Valley with renowned winemaker Chris Carpenter on the wines of Cardinale and Lokoya taught her patience, and how to choose the proper techniques to achieve the intended result. Under Chris???s guidance, she learned to stay true to her vision, and channel her tremendous passion for the work into the stamina and determination necessary to achieve her ambitious standards.
Laura???s confidence and poise animate the elegant wines of Galerie, her first solo winemaking project. As the name suggests, Galerie is an exhibition of Laura???s vibrant, colorful portraits of place ??? two charismatic wine growing regions, interpreted through the canvas of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Country born: Spain

Education: Graduate degree in enology at the Polytechnic University of Madrid. Technical training and experience making wine on four continents. Mentored under iconic winemaker Chris Carpenter

Years in the wine industry: 10-15 years

Winemaking Philosophy:
Her technical training and experience making wine on four continents provide her with a variety of tools to craft
her desired expression. She embraces New World priorities of
making wine approachable, seeking fully ripe fruit, and oaking
wines judiciously to smooth out youthful tannins without extended
cellaring. Laura also borrows classic European winemaking
techniques, like frequent stirring of lees during fermentation, and
minimal fining and filtering, in order to create the textural depth
and finesse that have become her signature.