Barrel to Bottle: Lab to Vineyard with Geneviève Janssens and Chrissy Whittmann
Geneviève Janssens and Chrissy Whittmann started in different places on their journey to becoming winemakers at Robert Mondavi and The Prisoner, respectively. They did both take similar paths to get there though, starting in the lab.
Geneviève’s family owned vineyards in Algeria and France, so she was always around winemakers and grape growers. She studied oenology and viticulture and eventually opened her own lab. At her father’s recommendation, she visited Napa Valley and specifically Robert Mondavi Winery. A few weeks later, they hired her as an oenologist. She had the chance to work for Robert Mondavi just as the rest of the world was finding out how great California wine could be.
Chrissy Whittmann started and stayed in California, where she grew up in Burbank. She majored in what was essentially environmental sciences and ended up working in a lab that analyzed soil, wastewater and also wine samples. Eventually she ended up working at a winery analyzing samples in house and that job basically changed her entire career.
Drink along at home with the following wines:
- Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2019
- Unshackled Red Blend 2019
- Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2016
- The Prisoner 2019
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