Joshua Klapper

Founder, La Fenêtre Wines

It all began thanks to a fortuitous, and life-changing, glass of 1945 Chateau Latour. Joshua Klapper still finds that wine exquisitely indescribable, but it solidified his determination to enter the world of the vine as a career. That glass of Latour was offered by a generous guest at Café Boulud where Klapper was one of the youngest 3-star servers in New York history, going on to open Chef Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne. Moving west, he entered the USC Undergraduate School of Business at about the same time he joined the team at Sona Restaurant for its November 2002 opening. Starting as a captain, he worked with the manager to develop the soon-to-be lauded wine list and, within six months, he was the restaurant's Wine Director. Currently, Sona has an unparalleled wine cellar and has earned the coveted Wine Spectator Grand Award.

During his time at Sona, Klapper became more and more passionate about the idea of making his own wines and the opportunity presented itself in 2005. Sourcing grapes and juice from some of the Central Coast's most respected vineyards, he bottled his first vintage (2004) of Timeless Palates Wines, which included elegant Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Chardonnay. Eager to get his hands dirty, Klapper also spent the entire 2006, 2007, and 2008 harvests in Santa Maria working at the Qupé and Au Bon Climat wineries where he experienced the often backbreaking but rewarding work of picking, crushing, punching down, and blending. Having been mentored by great winemakers like Jim Clendenen, Bob Lindquist, and Jim Adelman he took over 100% winemaking duties in 2008. With his knowledge about the intricate and often mysterious process that occurs between the time on the vine and the trip to the bottle, Klapper is striving to make better wines every year for the foreseeable future. "If I am not trying to get better all the time I feel I am actually getting worse," and wine is, as he says, "the endless love affair."

Klapper, who sources fruit from a tableau of top vineyards, is undoubtedly on his way to greatness.

-Doug Wilder, 5/23/2008, The Purely Domestic Wine Blog

Wine(s) to watch.

-Steve Heimoff, 12/1/2008, The Wine Enthusiast

Wonderful texture, good acidity, and... beautiful

-Robert Parker, 6/2008, The Wine Advocate