Scott McLeod
Winemaker
Scott grew up in Marin County under the shadow of Mt. Tamalpais. Having earned his degree in Enology at U.C. Davis, he immediately departed for Italy’s famed Chianti Classico region, where he worked for nearly three years in the hills south of Florence. Upon returning to the United States, McLeod met Francis and Eleanor Coppola and worked the next eighteen years as Director of Winemaking and Vineyard Manager for the Coppolas’ soaring wine business. In honor of his achievements, Wine Enthusiast Magazine named him “Winemaker of the Year” in 2009.
One of Scott’s most intriguing projects began as a conversation between Francis Coppola and George Lucas in 1996 when Coppola offered to help make the wine from Lucas’ vineyard at Skywalker Ranch. Thus began the relationship that allowed McLeod to direct the new planting of 20 acres of Pinot Noir on the southern ridge of the Estate. The first vintage was a tiny crop of a few tons that created the first Skywalker Vineyards Pinot Noir and Chardonnay 2008.
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