- Karl Wente
Fifth Generation Winemaker

What makes my family’s approach so unique is that we’ve been around for 128 years, five generations of continuity in the wine business. Because of our long history, we’ve fused the gap between generations many times. Though there’s certainly a sense of brand loyalty among people in my generation, many of us are also open to experimentation and discovery. First and foremost, what we’ve aimed to accomplish with Wente Vineyards is simply a) to make great wine at a fair price and b) stay true to our message of Estate grown, family owned and operated as well as sustainably farmed. This strong and simple tenet allows us to pass along our philosophy through the generations and gives me to the opportunity to explore and experiment as well.

One way we bridge the gap between generations is through the “Discover the Wine, Discover the Music” http://www.wentevineyards.com/discover/ program. When we launched the program five years ago, we wanted to highlight the connection between the structures of music and wine as well as bring music lovers to wine and vice versa. I think the connection between the two is something the millennial generation can definitely relate to. It’s easy to judge a wine or an album by its cover, but if you take a minute to find out what’s behind the label, your world can open to a whole new realm of beautiful possibilities.