The Winemakers of SoloRosa

Jeff Morgan began his professional career as a musician, living in France. After a stint as bandleader at the renowned Monte Carlo Casino, Jeff returned to his native New York in 1988 to try his hand at winemaking. He found work as a cellar worker at a winery in Long Island, N.Y. and also began writing freelance articles for publications which would include, over the years, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Elle, Food & Wine and Wine Enthusiast. In 1995, Wine Spectator appointed him West Coast editor and moved the wine journalist to San Francisco.

In October, 1999, he became wine director for Dean & DeLuca, the specialty food chain, in Napa Valley. Jeff has also written four cookbooks including, Dean & Deluca: The Food and Wine Cookbook; and The PlumpJack Cookbook: Recipes for Living Well, which he wrote with San Francisco Mayor/vintner/and restaurateur Gavin Newsom. But he is especially proud of Rosé, A Guide to the World’s Most Versatile Wine, which he wrote in 2005. It is the only American book devoted to the subject of rosé.

Daniel Moore (r) and Jeff Morgan (l)
Daniel Moore (left) and Jeff Morgan (right)

Daniel Moore has made wine for over two decades in Northern California, mostly near his home in the Russian River Valley. The original winemaker for Martinelli Winery, Daniel was also the founding winemaker at Lynmar Winery, where he worked for 13 years. His Lynmar Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were highly regarded throughout the nation.

SoloRosa isn't the first time Daniel's had a left-of-center idea like making rosé. From 1985 – 1995, he made Z Moore wines - possibly the best dry Gewürztraminer ever made in the New World. Despite Z Moore's success, the call of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and rosé was stronger, and the Z Moore label went into hibernation until 2005. It has been reborn as ZMOR and now includes Pinot Noir as well as Gewurztraminer (see our website at www.zmorwinery.com ).

Daniel and Jeff also have put their heads together to create M Squared Wine Consultants (www.m2wine.com ). With a diverse skill-set that spans production to promotion, the wine partners maintain a select roster of clients for whom they provide consulting services. Look for their monthly column in the trade magazine, Wines & Vines, beginning in June. Additionally, Daniel and Jeff are co-founders of RAP—the Rosé Avengers and Producers—a trade and consumer group dedicated to promoting dry rosé