BY RAMONA SAVISS
Last autumn, Aperture Cellars founder Jesse Katz joined Montage International in hosting an intimate dinner party at Montage Healdsburg’s Hazel Hill restaurant. Katz—considered a prodigy in the world of wine, having collected countless accolades since his winemaking career began in his early 20s—presided over a table brimming with vases of wildflowers and purple dahlias, wineglasses placed precisely at each setting. But the star of the night was not the man himself; rather, it was his newest creation: Aperture’s 2023 Montage Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, the first of a new label made from the resort’s own vines.
Raising his glass for a toast, Katz intimated that what each person held in their hand was more than wine. It was the beginning of a new era, and a symbol of connection, because, for the first time, the fruits of Montage Healdsburg’s and Aperture’s collaborative labor will be offered across the Montage and Pendry portfolios, carrying with it the spirit of Healdsburg: its craft, its character, and its sun-soaked terroir.
“We’re finally able to get this into so many new people’s glasses,” Katz said, adding that the label’s wines come from the 15.5-acre vineyard he designed and planted on Montage Healdsburg’s surrounding land in 2019. “It’s such a special site.” Aged for 18 months, mainly in new French oak barrels, the cabernet sauvignon with small amounts of malbec has notes of cassis, blackberries, dark chocolate, and savory herbs, with firm yet vibrant tannins.
Last October, winemaker Jesse Katz hosted a dinner party for the launch of Aperture’s
new Montage Estate. The label debuted with the 2023 Montage Estate Cabernet Sauvignon,
made exclusively with grapes from Montage Healdsburg’s 15.5-acre vineyard.
Aperture Montage Estate is Katz’s second partnership with Montage Healdsburg (the first, a private label called Surveyor, debuted in 2021) and represents an evolution on all fronts: of the terroir, of the grapes, and even of the winemaker himself. “The first few years were spent getting to understand the identity of the land and each individual block,” he says. “We now know which are the best and what we could push in the
winery.”
Made and bottled at Aperture’s nearby winery, the new label is also an opportunity for Katz, who has dozens of 100-point ratings under his belt, to tinker and refine. “I think it’s fascinating that the same grape, from the same winemaker, from the same vintage, can produce different outcomes based on where the grapes are grown,” he says, adding that he expects the same elevated results as his cabernet sauvignon from Montage Estate Sauvignon Blanc and Montage Estate Rosé, both of which will be released in spring 2026. Whatever the outcomes, one thing is certain: The future holds many more reasons for a toast. As Katz says, “we haven’t made our best wine yet.”