Meet Our Wine Makers

Juan Cerna oversees our Organic wine production with both creativity and a high level of technical skill. He is a native Californian with roots in the Salinas Valley. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology he found his passion for winemaking while working at Canandaigua Wine Company in Gonzales back in 1997. He honed his winemaking skills under the tutelage of some top winemakers at Monterey Wine Co., Bronco in Napa, ASV and most recently at Oak Ridge Winery. Juan lives in Galt California a small town 15 min north of Lodi CA with his wife and three girls. When Juan is not busy making wine or spending time with the family he enjoys a round of golf with close friends.

An dedicated scholar, Mike has devoted his professional life to learning everything he possibly can about wine. In 2009 he earned the highest recognition in the industry by passing the Master of Wine qualification. (There are less than 360 people in the world that have earned this prestigious title!) A native of Wales, Collier’s interest in wine was sparked while studying Food Technology at the National College of Food Science and Technology at Reading University. After earning his degree, he went to live in Portugal for four years where he studied wine and worked with a number of wineries. He returned to the UK and served as the Wine Technical Manager for PLB Group, a major UK importer. Prior to joining WX in 2011, he was the Wine Development Director at Diageo. He brings an unparalleled level of expertise and craftsmanship to the winemaking team. He has an uncanny ability for finding unique, high-quality wines and creating blends that excite consumers. When not sourcing and blending wines, Collier enjoys mountain biking, cooking, working on his allotment, and spending time with family and friends.

No stranger to Paso Robles, over the course of his decade-long winemaking career, Kip has become a specialist in California’s Central Coast and has developed an expertise for blending wines – a skill he puts to work frequently when creating all our unique Chronic Cellars blends. With his undeniable passion for winemaking, Kip Lorenzetti injects his skill and sense of adventure into guiding the future of our high personality wines.

 Part winemaker, part adventurer - Johnson Scutt has made wine from over 11 different countries, including Spain, Italy, Hungary and Cyprus. Originally from New Zealand, Scutt grew up on his family’s winemaking estate, which ignited his passion to pursue wine. He earned his Wine Science degree and worked for several years in Australia before setting out to travel the world. This adventure included double harvests each year, flying from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere to make wine. Finally, he settled in the UK to work with European wines. In 2004, he joined WX as the Director of Sourcing, first for Europe and now for the Southern Hemisphere. Scutt is devoted to finding and delivering honest varietal expression for the best value. He currently lives in New Zealand with his wife, kids and two Catalan cats.