Kosher winemaker Alicia Wilbur created a ‘gorgeous’ wine in a ‘happy accident’

July 20, 2018

Grapes on a vine in a vineyard

Winemaker Alicia Wilbur grew up around wine. Her family drank it at dinners and during the holidays—but it was the “boxed refrigerated variety or the syrupy sweet Kosher variety.” It wasn’t until she started bartending at upscale restaurants in her early 20s that she was introduced to fine wine.

“It changed everything for me,” Alicia says.

Around the time of that revelation, Alicia was also becoming more interested in her Jewish heritage. She said it was as if the “stars aligned” and she saw her future: “I decided I would make kosher wine.”

After switching her major to Enology (she had been attempted both Fine Arts and Zoology), she interned at a small winery in Sonoma—and she knew this was what she was meant to do. “The science combined with the artistry and physicality of winemaking called deeply to my soul,” she explains.

Read the full profile and Wilbur’s wine recommendations at groknation.com.