Winemakers to Watch

Matthew Rorick of Forlorn Hope uses a thief to get a taste of a 2012 Barbera on January 13, 2013. 

I had a great time photographing four California Winemakers for the San Francisco Chronicle. The four were all a pleasure to work with. On four different mornings I headed out for a shoot. Two in Napa, one in Sonoma and one in Paso Robles. Even in winter I found the vineyards beautiful. THe start graphic elements of the bare vines made a great backdrop. I also went to each winemaker's winery for additional photos. The articles ran in the Food & Wine Section of the Chronicle on Sunday, February 3 under the title Winemakers to Watch 2013.

Technically, this was a fun shoot. Four different people on four different days. To keep some consistency, I shot everyone in the vineyards starting at 8:30 AM. I tried to use the morning light as a rim light and then use an Alien Bees B800 with a softbox as a key.  The other winery shots can be seen on my other blog at scottrklinephoto.com/blog.

Katy Wilson, owner and winemaker at LaRue Wines stand above barrels which include some of her Pinot Noir at Kamen winery near Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday, January 20, 2013.

After completing the vineyard shots I moved on to the wineries. These were more complicated, because each winery had a different set of lighting and space. The shot of Matthew Rorick of Forlorn Hope, at the top of this blog used an open truck door behind the forklift to rim the subject and light the barrels. I then used an B800 with a softbox to put a key light on Matthew.

The shot of Katy Wilson, above, was in a much bigger space. Similarly, there was an open truck door letting some light in the space. But I augmented the ambient with two speedlights.

Tadeo Borchardt has been winemaker for Neyers Vineyards since 2004. These vines produce Merlot at the Neyers Ranch in Conn Valley near St. Helena, CA. January 16, 2013. 

Anthony Yount and his Queensland Heeler, Waylon, sit on a barrel of his Grenache Blanc wine that he produces for his own label Kinero at the Denner Estate Winery in Paso Robles, Calif., on Saturday, January 26, 2013.