Ed Kurtzman

Ed's journey into winemaking began quite by accident, when he took a job at a wine shop during his undergrad studies at UMass Amherst. It wasn't long before Ed realized that wine was more than a passing fancy. He jettisoned his original career plans, moved to California to sell wine, and soon enrolled in the enology program at Fresno State. After graduating, Ed embarked on an early career that included stints at some well-respected central coast wineries. He started out in the cellar at Bernardus, under the tutelage of Don Blackburn and Kirby Anderson. Next, he spent three harvests as assistant winemaker to Michael Michaud at Chalone before taking the reins as head winemaker for Rob and Diana Jensen's Testarossa Vineyards in Los Gatos. It was at Testarossa that Ed's deft touch with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay started to gain widespread attention. Before long, he found himself in demand as a consulting winemaker, taking on clients including Freeman, Fort Ross, ROAR and Mansfield-Dunne while becoming a partner in August West. He also started his own label, Sandler, in 2003.