Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/402796
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m 4 0 n 2013 we launched our "20 Most A d m i r e d ' i s s u e t o s h i n e a m u c h - deserved spotlight on the most admired people in the North American wine industry. With the thoughtful input of our nominating committee – comprised of respected winemakers, grapegrowers, wine writers, educators, buyers, sommeliers and consultants across North America – we cel- ebrated wine professionals from just about every aspect of the industry. This year, we're highlighting the 20 Most Admired Winemakers. Our committee had just two rules to fol- low: 1) nominees must be living; 2) they must be based in North America. While some com- mittee members quickly returned short-lists of their winemaking heroes, others agonized over how to whittle down their nominees to less than 50. O n c e t h e n o m i n a t i o n s w e r e i n , w e reduced the field of contenders to 40 final- ists, based on the number of nominations each person received. Names of the finalists were then submitted to the committee for a vote (members could vote for as many peo- ple as they liked.) The 20 winemakers who came out on top reflect a wide range of wines, styles and regions. Some produce hundreds of thou- sands of cases each year; some make only a couple thousand. While many craft some of North America's finest wines and represent the continent's most successful wineries, there are many other reasons to admire the men and women on our 2014 list. These are the pioneers; the innovators; the trend-buck- ers; the standard-setters and the leaders. Here, in alphabetical order, are the Most Admired Winemakers in North America.