Wine Portfolio

Kian Tavakoli

Winemaker, PATEL - Napa Valley

After UC Davis, Kian was Opus One's Lab Technician for 4 years where he developed his love and passion for Cabernet/Bordeaux varieties winemaking. The next stop was at Clos Du Val where he was Associate Winemaker and eventually winemaker of their Cabernet program, where under the tutelage of Bernard Portet, he learned the craft of blending - creating refined, structured and well balanced wines. In 2005, Kian took over the winemaking operations for a custom winemaking organization that allowed him to meet and make wine for small brand owners wanting to start their respective programs. In 2007, Raj Patel hired Kian to be his winemaker and together they've sourced, processed, blended and bottled some very impressive wines, and look forward to continuing their trend of making delicious wines for everyone's enjoyment.

Country born: Iran

Education: UC Davis graduate in 1992, with a degree in Genetics/Viticulture Minor.

Years in the wine industry: 20-30 years

Winemaking Philosophy:
To be able to express a given site's fruit to its full potential, yielding wines of great richness, complexity, and overall balance.