Aperture Cellars

Jesse Katz grew up traveling to vineyards with his father, the photographer Andy Katz. He founded Aperture in 2009 after harvests around the world, betting that Sonoma could deliver new world fruit with old world restraint.

The estate sits minutes from downtown on land first planted in 1912, surrounded by century-old vines. The building was designed around the idea of a camera aperture, with skylights and lens-shaped forms pulling light through the rooms as the day moves. Andy Katz’s photographs hang throughout.

Tastings are seated and run about ninety minutes. The Soil Series walks the full range. The Site Series focuses on single-vineyard bottlings from cool-climate Alexander Valley sites. Reservations are required, and worth making before you arrive.