Originally from Lake County in Northern California, Andrew worked in wine production under mentor, Jed Steele of Steele Wines as well with the Duckhorn Portfolio. After realizing that working for a brand making over 2 million cases wasn't what he wanted to do, he found himself in Michigan. Owners of Modales, Jim & Carol Gonzalez had purchased a vineyard & began selling their grapes to other wineries. After realizing that they could be making wine from their grapes, Andrew helped make the first release of Modales in 2016 . Working with over 15 grape varieties such as Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, newly planted Gamay, experimental plantings of Petit Manseng & Tannat to name a few, Andrew is steadily pushing the boundaries of Michigan wine. In a recent article by Dorothy Gaiter & John Brecher Andrew says that the Gonzalezes give him "Carte Blanche" to create terroir driven, low intervention wines that show the excellence that is possible from Michigan grown grapes.
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