Philip Zorn - Winemaker

Philip was born in New York City, New York. In 1979, he moved to Bad Kreuznach, a small medieval town one hour from Frankfurt, to study Viticulture and Enology at the Bad Kreuznach Technical School. While Philip was hard at work studying to become a winemaker, exciting things were happening in California. In 1976, the famous Judgment of Paris took place, where California wines triumphed in a blind tasting over the French rivals, putting California winemaking on the map.

Upon graduating in 1984, Philip decided to head towards the exciting action and moved his young family and wife 5,600 miles from Germany to Napa, California! After getting a few harvests under his belt, Philip worked his way up and down the California coast taking head winemaker jobs at famous wineries such as Sunny St. Helena Winery, Gauer Estate in Sonoma, Mountain View Vintners, and Paraiso Springs in Monterey. Philip avoids interfering with the expression of terroir and is careful to ensure that overlays like oak do not overshadow the expression of the fruit. One of Philip’s strongest attributes as winemaker is finding the right region/vineyard for the right style of wine. At Place Vintners, Philip is able to work with many different terroir and microclimates to make Cabernet sauvignon in the style of its Place!