Conduit, Grenache Noir, Amador Co, 2021

Winemaker and proprietor Aaron Bryan has a nontraditional winemaking background. A classically trained economist, Aaron fell in love with the art and science of winemaking during his time at UC Santa Barbara. He continued his informal wine education during his time in New York City and when he moved back to the West Coast, started making beer and wine out of his garage in the Mission District of San Francisco. Eventually, he met a group of urban winemakers on Treasure Island and started trading beer for a few barrels of cellar space. In 2013 he decided to make the leap full time and has been producing Conduit and divergent vine wines and Tag + Jug Cider since. In 2014 Aaron met Amy who was working as a regional manager for a major wine supplier and importer and our relationship quickly developed around a shared love of wine, food, and exploring Northern California. Over time, our personal relationship evolved into a lifetime partnership and Amy now runs our national sales and marketing efforts for Conduit, divergent vine, and Tag + Jug Cider Co. brands. In 2020, we purchased a small winery and six acre, 2,700' elevation vineyard, our 'Gold Dust Vineyard', with steep slopes, planted to Syrah, Viognier, Tempranillo, and Primitivo, all in decomposed granite soils. We have been converting the vineyard, with 20+ year old vines to organic, farming the vineyard ourselves. We mostly dry farm unless the vines are extremely stressed. We plant cover crop to prevent erosion, promote a healthy environment for beneficial bugs & pollinators & to add nitrogen to the soil to maintain the soil health. This year we will be capturing all of the rain into barrels to reuse for landscaping and our vegetable garden. We plant native & drought resistant flowers and plants on the property to encourage bees and butterflies and to reduce water usage. We live in a 252 sq foot tiny house that has dramatically reduced our carbon footprint & lead us down a path of minimalism. We are located in 'Gold Country' in Fair Play in El Dorado Co in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. ​