John was born in St. Louis, Missouri.\nLouis, Missouri.\nAs a child, he often went to Provence, where he visited his uncle, Richard Olney, a renowned food and wine writer and former member of the International Wine Academy.\nThere, he discovered the great original wines, especially the artisan winemakers guided by the traditional methods advocated by the AIV. <\/p>\n\n
He began his career working with importer Kermit Lynch, where he deepened his understanding of the philosophy behind the activities of many of France’s finest producers.\nFocusing on his passion for wine and his desire to become a winemaker, between 1990 and 1994 he completed several internships in Provence, the Rh\u00f4ne Valley and Burgundy. <\/p>\n\n
Returning to the U.S. in 1996, he joined producer Ridge Vineyards, working alongside Paul Draper in the Santa Cruz Mountains.\nIn 1991, he became winemaker at Ridge’s Lytton Springs winery in Sonoma, specializing in Old Vine Zinfandel.\nIn 2021, he was named Director of Winemaking and COO of Ridge, where he directs winemaking at both Monte Bello and Lytton Springs wineries. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","member_country":[96],"member_affiliation":[89],"class_list":["post-1809","member","type-member","status-publish","hentry","member_country-usa-en","member_affiliation-production-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n