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Grady Wann / Quivira
Winemaker and General Manager

Grady Wann brings many talents to Quivira, as Winemaker and General Manager. A scientist, artist, and humanist, he is intensely focused and passionate about his work. Grady's penchant for balance and beauty is reflected in the wines he crafts.

A combination of destiny and good judgement brought Grady to the wine business and ultimately to Quivira. Born and raised on the East Coast, he came to California in the mid 1970's to earn a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Stanford University. In his free time, Grady explored the nearby wine country, discovering the wines of Chalone, Mt. Eden and Ridge Vineyards. "The Ridge Zinfandels really captured my interest." By the time he had his doctorate degree, Grady's professional interest had shifted from chemistry to viticulture and enology.

In 1982, Grady moved north to Sonoma County, where he gained hands-on harvest experience while taking classes at U.C. Davis. "At first it was difficult to get a crush job; no one thought a Ph.D. chemist would be willing to wash barrels." But he did wash barrels and tanks and anything else required, asking more and more questions along the way.

At U.C. Davis, Grady studied viticulture and enology while making contacts in the wine industry. He met and worked briefly for MaryAnn Graf at Vinquiry, an independent wine analysis and consulting firm. He left Vinquiry to become research enologist with Sonoma Cutrer's winemaking team in 1983. "My job was to explore and track the effects of viticultural practices and winemaking techniques on finished wines. I learned a great deal about the vine-to-wine cycle." Limited to producing Chardonnay at Sonoma Cutrer, Grady made red wines at home, filling his garage with fermenting, blending and aging experiments.
Grady was introduced to Quivira's proprietors, Holly and Henry Wendt, by the winery's first winemaker, Doug Nalle. "Then, as now, Quivira possessed very attractive elements: committed owners with focused vision, and estate vineyards yielding delicious grapes and wines I respected. The opportunity to handcraft small lots of wines, including Zinfandel, was a dream come true." Grady accepted the Wendt's offer to be winemaker in 1990.

Inspired by experience and his educated intuition, Grady regularly assesses Quivira's viticultural and winemaking practices and continuously takes Quivira to new levels of excellence. "We have all the ingredients here to create distinctive, brightly flavored wines. Each vintage brings us new opportunities to learn."

On any given day at Quivira, Grady can be found inspecting vineyards, conducting wine blending trials, filling barrels, writing witty sonnets, mapping treasure hunts for visiting sales teams, constructing a "stage set" for a special event, or quietly savoring a picnic with his wife Jane, and children, Lauren and Kelson.
In 1996, Henry and Holly Wendt promoted Grady to General Manager of Quivira Vineyards. In addition to winemaking responsibilities, he manages an energetic and committed staff. In the true spirit of partnership, Grady and the Quivira team work with great care and pride. "This is more than a job for us, it is a way of life. Our fulfillment is the consistent quality of Quivira wines."