Wang Fang

Wang Fang, nicknamed "Crazy Fang" for her adventurous and dauntless spirit in winemaking by British Wine critic Jancis Robinson, is the founder and owner of Kanaan Winery, a powerhouse in China’s wine scene. Born in China, Fang lived in Germany for 12 years where she was fortunate enough to be exposed to wines from all over the world. Following in the footsteps of her father Wang Fengyu, a revered viticulturist, Wang Fang returned to China in 2011 and founded Kanaan Winery, at the east foothill of Helan Mountain in Ningxia where she was born and raised. With her affinity for Germany and her love for Riesling, she was the first person in China to plant Riesling. However, she is best known for her Cabernet and Merlot-based blends. Kanaan’s wines have received recognition not only in the Chinese market but also in foreign countries such as the UK, Australia, Canada, UAE, Germany, Switzerland, etc. Her 2013 Pretty Pony, a Bordeaux blend, won a top international wine award.

王方,德籍华人,因其大胆独树一帜的酿酒精神,被英国著名酒评家葡萄酒大师Jancis robinson 称为“魔方女士”。她的酿酒生涯要从对国产精品酒的憧憬与热情说起。12年的德国生活经历让王方女士接触到来自全国各地葡萄酒。而她的父亲是一位令人尊敬的葡萄酒栽培家,从1982年开始研究葡萄酒栽培,成为开拓中国精品酒的第一批人。受到她父亲的影响,王方对国产酒的未来充满信心。2011年,她选择回到中国并在养育她一生的家乡——宁夏贺兰山东麓产区建立了自己的酒庄“迦南美地”。自建立至今,迦南美地的葡萄酒因其出色的品质受到许多国际奖项。其酒款在中国大陆及香港澳门,以及许多国际市场认可:例如英国、澳大利亚、加拿大、德国、瑞士、阿拉伯联合酋长国等……于是,贴有“骏马”酒标的迦南美地中国葡萄酒骄傲地奔向全世界各地。哦对了,为什么是“骏马"?因为这就是宁夏贺兰山的象征!

3 words to describe Nature?

Sun. Soil. Water

3 things Nature taught you?

Respect humanity

Respect the environment

Put heart in nature

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Sunlight

Soil

Waterflow

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

Worry

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

Complex

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

Never seen it

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Beautiful

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Scared

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Lonely

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Mountain & Forest

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

10+ 

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

I live in a small city near the desert in the northwest. Every time I go to school there will be a sandstorm, and the sky will darken in an instant, and then the sand was dancing in the sky, and nothing could be seen clearly from one meter away.

 


Jean-Charles Boisset

Jean-Charles Boisset is a leading producer of luxury wines in France, California and Canada. His parents, Jean-Claude and Claudine, founded the family winery in 1961 with an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in one of the most traditional winegrowing regions in the world.  Today, the family collection includes wineries that share more than 20 centuries of combined winemaking heritage and tradition in some of the world’s most prestigious terroirs, from Burgundy to the South of France, to California’s Napa Valley and Russian River Valley, including Domaine de la Vougeraie, Jean-Claude Boisset, Raymond Vineyards, Buena Vista Winery, DeLoach Vineyards, and many more.

Jean-Charles has expanded from the world of wine and spirits to include a lifestyle vision; he has created namesake collections for jewelry, perfume and the JCB Passion Collection by Baccarat — the first glassware line the historic French crystal company has ever done with a vintner. In addition, the JCB offerings include home accessories that exemplify the JCB world of hospitality and entertaining. As a natural extension of his growing influence in the lifestyle realm, in June 2019 Senses by JCB, a fashion and fragrance boutique and medi-spa debuted in the JCB Village in Yountville. Senses showcases high-profile luxury fashion, accessories and skincare products from around the world, with highlights including a selection of vintage handbags as well as an osmologue machine that enables guests to blend custom scents.

Jean-Charles’ sets forth a vision of the wine and luxury worlds centered on family, passion, history, innovation and a commitment to sustainability. Decanter magazine has included him on its “Power List” of the 50 most important people in the wine world each year of its publication since 2007; in March 2008, he received the Meininger’s International Wine Entrepreneur of the Year; and in December 2008, he was named “Innovator of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast. The French-American Foundation awarded him their first-ever French-American Partnership Award in 2013, bestowed upon an extraordinary individual or organization that has contributed to creating a strong and enduring French-American partnership in business, government or academia. Haute Living named him to the Haute List San Francisco, recognizing the 100 most influential people in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was honored with the 2014 Jefferson Award by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, which celebrates the museum’s historical connection to wine. Also in 2014, JFK University in Concord named Jean-Charles and his wife Gina Gallo its “Entrepreneurs of the Year.” In 2015 Jean-Charles was named an Honorary Co-Chair of that year’s Sonoma Harvest Wine Auction, which broke all records by raising a staggering $4.5 million. In March 2017, Jean-Charles and Gina received the Mondavi Food & Wine award Robert Mondavi Wine & Food award by The Collins College of Hospitality Management in honor of their vision and leadership to advance the wine industry. In May 2019 Jean-Charles accepted the Wine Country Business of the Year French American Business Award from the French American Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco.

3 words to describe Nature?

Inspirational. Generous. Beautiful

3 things Nature taught you?

Respect

Authenticity

Truth

3 most treasured Nature spots?

In the vineyard

On the ocean

In the air

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?

Energized

When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?

Oxygenated

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?

On fire

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?

Reflective

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?

Excited

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?

Inspired

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Ocean

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

11

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

I have this vivid memory when I was 7 years old. Growing up in France, roaming the vineyard, we were always connected to the land, to nature, and the rhythm of the seasons. I felt the pendulum of life, being in touch with all the forces and the vibrations of the universe. I felt this energy pulling me in, it was magnetic. Winemaking, creating from the earth and nourishing our spirit, is for me a celebration of this memory I felt as a boy. 

 


Nile Zacherle

Nile Zacherle is the co-Founder of Mad Fritz Brewing Co and Director of Winegrowing at David Arthur Vineyards on Pritchard Hill in the Napa Valley.

Nile first began his journey into fermented beverages in 1990 at the age of 18 when he and his father brewed their first batch of beer at home. What began as a father/son home project continued to evolve until he transitioned his schooling from a focus in art and design to a BS in Fermentation Science at UC Davis. While at UC Davis, Nile completed the Master Brewers program passing the 2 day exam issued by the IOBD (Institute of Brewing and Distilling based in the UK) in 1996.

After an internship at a Napa Winery doing small lot winemaking and research enology he returned to UC Davis to finish his degree.  From winemaking positions in Napa Valley’s Barnett Vineyards and Chateau Montelena to roles at Western Australia’s Pierro Margaret River Vineyards and Bordeaux, France’s Chateau d’Arsac, Nile built a career producing award-winning wines from Burgundian and Bordeaux varietals.

In 2014, together with his wife, they started, Mad Fritz, named after their two children Madeleine and Fritz. Their focus is on malting and brewing beers with a ‘Farm to Foam’ approach. The sourcing of single variety barleys that are craft-malted with an origin, as well as hops and water sourcing defines the beer styles in what they call ‘Origin Beer’. 

3 words to describe Nature?

Inspiring. Powerful. Subtle

3 things Nature taught you?

Respect

Patience 

Gratitude

3 most treasured Nature spots?

The ocean/waves at Kailua Beach in Hawaii 

The forest/trails at Moore Creek in Napa

The rocks/geology at Yosemite Valley

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

Calm yet tentative -aware

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

Excited yet unknowing - insignificant

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

Inspired yet scared

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Impatient

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Helpless

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Curious

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Forest/Mountains

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?

10 (living around it and exploring regularly keeps me sane)

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

Moving to Hawaii and learning to duck the waves as a young boy, feeling safe in ocean as big surf rolled in rather than scared. Accepting and swimming towards the monster rather than away