Meet Geyser Peak’s New Head of Winemaking – Ondine Chattan

My guest this week is Ondine Chattan, who was recently promoted to the head winemaking position at Geyser Peak Winery, one of California’s oldest and most award-winning wineries. We will be talking about Geyser Peak’s award winning wines and new releases– including conducting an on-air tasting, Geyser Peak’s commitment to sustainability, and great food and wine pairings. We’ll also discuss the wine industry today and what Ondine sees for the future, the trend towards screw caps, as well as what life is like as a female winemaker.

Founded in 1880 by Augustus Quitzow, Geyser Peak winery has had a long history of pioneering innovation in winemaking. From these earliest days, Geyser Peak has been at the forefront of quality wine production and today is one of the most award-winning wineries in Sonoma County, having been named “Winery of the Year” by Wine & Spirits magazine an unprecedented 8 times since 1993.

Growing up close to wine country in Marin County, California, Ondine Chattan was enthralled with art, science and nature from an early age. Her interest in science grew over time into a love of biology and chemistry. It took only a single introductory lecture on viticulture at California Polytechnic State University for Ondine to realize that she’d found a pursuit which combined her interests in hard science and subjective aesthetics. After her first job at Sonoma’s Cline Cellars, well-known produces of old-vine Zinfandels, Ondine went back to school for a Master’s in Enology from Fresno State University. Upon graduation, she went to work at Ridge Vineyards – another winery, like Cline, known for being unflinchingly idiosyncratic, and for using traditional, time-honored winemaking techniques. Ondine was recently promoted to the head winemaking position at Geyser Peak Winery, where she has been on the winemaking team for ten years, including as the lead winemaker for XY Zin.