100% Grenache Blanc from the Loire Valley, France. Organic.

"Yohanna Suzanna is my first sparkling wine project, and the culmination of 20-something years at work making still red and white wines. And now, I am feeling like it’s time to celebrate...

In 2023, I became the importer of my own work, and that of my winemaker peers in France— and soon, Spain. It also marked the year the farming and production practices at this property (where we also make the Maz Caz trio) received certification in Regenerative Organic Agriculture. Lots to celebrate, so I needed some bubbles.

Inspiration is a funny thing. It can arrive in a lot of different forms. Those who know me are already in on the very funny stories behind how some of my wines came to be... For this one, I take my sneaky opportunity to acknowledge all the incredible, hard-working women I get to collaborate with to make wine. Whether it’s the farming, the work in the cellar, organizing the packaging, logistics, or marketing all the way up to sales. These women are the enologists, the researchers and soil scientists, the administrative staff, shop owners, bartenders, restaurant managers and sales representatives. I need all of them working in concert, just to get a vine in France to produce the healthy grapes which we turn into this wine, that is then poured in your glass here in the U.S.A. They are all forward thinking, open-minded women who keep at it, and who always show up.

This brings me to the name... Yohanna Suzanna. That’s my mother (First name: Cathy, but her middle names are ‘Yohanna Suzanna’). She is the funniest person I have ever met and one tough cookie. She has never worked in a vineyard, and she will probably never drink this wine because according to her, “I don’t like fizzy drinks because I can feel the bubbles in my ears”. I couldn’t think of a better name than that of the first lady to ever make a difference in my life.

The perfect sum of my admiration and affection for the work all women do, all the time, across all industries. (Even the label design is the work of an astonishingly creative young lady named Skylar Schade from North Carolina whose artwork I have been smitten with for years.)

Yohanna Suzanna is my high five in the form of a toast to the women, young ladies and little girls behind me, ahead of me, and working right beside me."