WINEMAKERS

Michael Dashe-Co-founder and Winemaker

At the age of fifteen, Michael Dashe discovered his passion for the science of fermentation when he reconditioned an old refrigerator to begin making his own handcrafted beer. From selecting his own hops and malts, to studying the art of brewing, Michael loved the process. By 1978, as an undergraduate studying biology, with an emphasis on plant physiology, at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Michael's fascination with fermentation had guided him to begin making his own small batch wines. Read More...

While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Michael worked part-time in the cellar at Roudon-Smith winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Surrounded by people sharing similar interests to his own, it was during this time that he first considered a career as a winemaker. In 1985, Michael began studying for his masters in enology from the University of California at Davis. The following year he worked as an intern for Napa's respected Schramsberg Wine Cellars. In 1987, Michael completed his degree and took an intern position in the cellars of Far Niente.

Eager to expand his knowledge of various viticultural regions and winemaking techniques, in 1989, Michael traveled to the Cloudy Bay winery in New Zealand where he learned from acclaimed winemaker Kevin Judd. Next, his studies led him to Bordeaux where he worked in the vineyards and laboratory of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. As the assistant to technical director, Gilbert Rokvam, Michael studied Rothschild's traditional methods for developing wine intensity, complexity, and tannin management during fermentation.

Michael returned to the Untied States in 1990, and was quickly offered the position of assistant winemaker at Ridge Vineyards, where he worked with renowned winemaker Paul Draper. Sharing Draper's vineyard-focused approach, Michael began refining his own gentle, minimalist style of winemaking. Instead of being overly manipulative with the fruit, as a master blender, Draper taught Michael to subtly craft wines layer-by layer, developing the texture and character of each through careful trials. In 1995, in addition to his role as assistant winemaker, Michael was placed in charge of Ridge's Lytton Springs winery in the Dry Creek Valley. The following year, in partnership with his winemaker wife Anne, Michael began crafting his own wines under the Dashe Cellars label.

In 1998, Michael departed Ridge to pursue Dashe Cellars fulltime. Committed to using traditional winemaking techniques such as small lot fermentation, indigenous yeasts and little or no filtration, Michael strives to create wines that reflect the personality of great vineyard sites. "It's not about making commercial wines or competition winners," says Michael. "It's about making wines that we believe in, wines that are complex and interesting. I get my reward when I watch someone taste one of my wines, and for a moment I see that look of total satisfaction-that look that says that what I've made has transcended being a wine, and become an experience."

Anne Dashe-Co-founder

When speaking of her upbringing in Brittany and her love of wine, Anne Dashe says simply, "In France, you don't come to wine, wine comes to you. It is always a part of life." As a child, Anne followed her nose, intrigued by different smells. From the mustiness of old books, to the leather and blackberry of classic Rhône red wines, Anne discovered that she connected emotions to different aromas. Read More...

Fascinated by nature and plant physiology, in 1987, Anne traveled to Bordeaux to study biochemistry and science. There, she found herself torn between her desire to make wine, and her interest in becoming a perfumer. After two years of rigorous scientific studies, Anne took an internship at Château La Dominique in Saint-Emilion, and quickly fell in love with the workings of the small winery.

"I was inspired by all the layers of the process," she says. "It appealed to my desire to make things. From the chemistry of the wine, to the selection of the corks and the design of the label, it required such a diversity of skills. But most of all, I discovered how passionate I was about blending wines. It was a revelation. It was then that I knew I wanted to study enology."

Anne received her national diploma of enology from the University of Bordeaux in 1991. Eager to pursue opportunities outside the French system that often favored the children of winemaking families for hands-on winemaking positions, she moved to California and took a job at Chappellet Winery in St. Helena. Working with winemaker Philip Titus, Anne gained experience in almost every aspect of production, from the crush, to the cellar and the lab. After Chappellet, Anne focused on chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon at Seavey Vineyards in the Napa Valley, before taking a position as a brandymaker and research enologist at RMS Brandy Distillery in Carneros in 1992.

Anne found the art of making brandy a very sensory experience, combining her classically trained palate and olfactory talents, with her love of chemistry and blending. In her five years at RMS, she learned the science of distillation, and the complex process of extracting key aromas and essences, while helping to develop new products including a pear liqueur and several brandies.

In 1994, her Bordeaux classmate and fellow winemaker, Philippe Melka (together with his wife Cherie), introduced Anne to Michael Dashe. Two years later, Anne and Michael were married. In 1996, Anne left RMS to co-found Dashe Cellars alongside Michael. Combining a passion for fine wines, with a natural aptitude for the day-to-day business operations of a winery, Anne acts as CFO, while lending the expertise and refinement of her French trained palate to the blending of every Dashe Cellars wine.