It is rare when a winemaker has a background as a top-level chef in restaurants. In the case of Alex Pitts and Marty Winters of the Maitre de Chai winery, both food and wine figure prominently in their resumés, having worked in top kitchens, cellars and even as front-of-the-house sommeliers. Their winery, Maitre de Chai, was established in 2012. Together they look to make wines of high quality in a way that best showcases the ingredients that top California vineyards can produce.

Maître de Chai translates to “keeper of the cellar”, i.e. chef, or the person responsible for the creative development and aging of wine. As the name implies, Marty and Alex care for the wines in the cellar and defer to what nature has provided, limiting their intervention, and letting their ingredients speak for themselves.

The wines of Maître de Chai demonstrate a commitment to the less is more approach. The winemaking goal is to capture the purity of fruit and site specificity without the interference of oak (no new oak is utilized in the cellar), additives, or excessive use of sulphur. All ferments are done using native yeasts and all the winemaking and elevage is done at their own facility located in Berkeley. From unique and distinct single vineyards that are impeccably farmed, they seek a sense of place where the grapes are grown as well as a true personality of the sites. Their wines obviously are meant to go with food, and not surprisingly, have always been mainstays in restaurants.