Sashi Moorman, Melissa Sorongon & Peter Pastan

Sashi Moorman is American wine’s Benjamin Franklin — ever tinkering, iterating, and going against the grain. His lightning rod: cool-climate Syrah, which he’s reimagined in the vein of Côte Rôtie by cultivating closer to the ocean — and harvesting earlier — than any of his colleagues dared to imagine. Sashi wouldn’t call himself a natural winemaker. Instead, he “makes wine naturally.” This might seem like a subtle distinction, but it actually reveals quite a lot about Sashi’s inherent pragmatism. More craftsman than banner-waving idealist, Sashi’s commitment to the environment is part of his mission to produce profound, terroir-driven wines. As such, his holistic approach goes far beyond any legal definition of organic. He tends his vines with the sensitivity of a gardener, forgoing synthetic sprays in favor old-school applications like sulfur and copper. The same goes in the cellar, where every decision reflects an inquisitive mind grappling with wine’s big questions.