Anthony Biagi

Lead Winemaker

A sixth generation Californian, Tony has always felt most at home when outside, working with his hands. Now a veteran winemaker in the Napa Valley, his career spans more than two decades. Tony has helped shape a number of notable Napa Valley wineries including CADE, Clos Du Val, Hourglass, Paraduxx, Plumpjack, and Sinegal Estate; he’s widely recognized for creating elegantly balanced, terroir-driven wines. He strongly believes that his role as a winemaker includes a responsibility to educate the next generation of rising stars, a mentor-apprentice relationship that’s essential to not only making excellent wines, but also to the future success of a healthy industry. In 2015, Tony became the winemaker for Amici Cellars and Olema. Tony and his team follow the philosophy that great wines are made in the vineyard. Whether crafting his own interpretation of Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa’s historic To Kalon Vineyard for Amici Cellars, or sourcing fruit from Côtes de Provence to create the Olema Rosé, Tony’s method of small batch winemaking remains the same — separately ferment and age individual vineyard blocks to create the best possible expression of each vineyard, each year. For Tony, the goal is simple — craft a wine he and his winemaking team enjoy drinking and be confident others will enjoy it as well.

Matt Courtney

Consulting Winemaker

Recognized for creating elegantly balanced, terroir-driven wines, Courtney honed his skills with one of California’s most influential winemakers, Helen Turley and her viticulturist partner and husband, John Wetlaufer at Marcassin. During his eight-year tenure in the winery and the vineyards, Courtney played a significant role in crafting some of the most highly acclaimed Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. A position of winemaker at Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley followed in 2013, where Courtney oversees winemaking from the two estate vineyards as well as select growers. In that same year, Courtney launched his own project, Ferren Wines, select single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. Additional consulting experience has included MacPhail Wines, Wilson Daniels and Carteirra.

Dante West

Winemaker

Dante brings to the Amici team the perfect combination of winemaking “book smarts” and “street smarts,” with a Viticulture & Enology Degree from UC Davis and experience at premier wineries of Napa and Sonoma, including Arista, Mending Wall and Flowers Vineyards & Winery. A California kid since age 10, Dante was aware of the wine world his whole life, but it wasn’t until an Intro to Winemaking course at UC Davis that he knew he wanted to make winemaking his career. Fortunately for all of us at Amici, Dante pursued the path of Viticulture & Enology at Davis and proceeded to make his way around the world, including a harvest in Australia.

At Amici Cellars, Dante’s role combines logistics and artistry, working closely alongside winemaker Tony Biagi to usher the Amici fruit from vine to bottle. “I love being able to highlight our very special vineyard sites from both Napa and Sonoma,” Dante says, “along with the hard-working, passionate crew we have on our winemaking team.” When not at the winery, he’s most likely found hiking the trails of Napa and Sonoma with his wife, Lily.