Who says you can never go home again? Certainly not Michael Scholz, nor St Supery Vineyards & Winery in Napa Valley.
Scholz, St Supery’s winemaker from 1996 to 2001, has retaken the position at the Rutherford winery, after eight years as winemaker for Wattle Creek Winery in Sonoma county.
Those who jump ship for another winery job rarely are welcomed back, yet new St Supery CEO Emma Swain apparently has no qualms about Scholz returning to the fold. The April 2009 retirement of founding St Supery CEO Michaela Rodeno, which coincided with the departure of winemaker Michael Beaulac for Pine Ridge Winery, left Swain with her first major task: hiring a winemaker.
Who better than Scholz, who was very successful in his previous stint at St Supery, particularly with Sauvignon Blanc, establishing St Supery as among the best in California. He knows the vineyards, most of which are planted in Pope Valley, a remote 20 miles east of Rutherford, yet still in Napa Valley, and I would think that Swain believes Scholz can add spark to the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots, which have always been well-made, though not exciting.
St Supery is owned by Languedoc negociant Robert Skalli. Scholz, an Australian native, continues to work with his brother, Peter Scholz, at The Willows Vineyard in the Barossa Valley.
