Meet Julia Iantosca
Julia Iantosca
Julia Iantosca, Consulting Winemaker for Lasseter Family Winery, has 30 years of winemaking experience in small, premium wineries. She enjoys working with many varieties and the challenges that each variety holds, although she has a particular passion for creating unique red blends from traditional Bordeaux varieties and red Rhone varieties. This love of red blends dovetails with the dream of John and Nancy Lasseter to produce old world wine blends inspired by the wines of Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley. Most of Julia’s career has been spent in Sonoma County where her love for this region began during a student internship at Dry Creek Vineyards. Upon graduating from UC Davis with a BS in Fermentation Science, Julia joined Stevenot Vineyards in Calaveras County as Co-Winemaker with proprietor Bardon Stevenot. The Sierra Foothill region was seeing a renaissance in winemaking, but Julia was lured to Sonoma County by its world class terrior.
Julia was Winemaker for William Wheeler Winery in Healdsburg for eleven years, during which she worked closely with Vineyard Manager Duff Bevill to enhance wine quality through vineyard practices that focused on winegrowing rather than grape-growing. During this time she also served as an officer in the Sonoma Wine Technical Group and as a member of the California Enological Research Association (CERA).
Lambert Bridge Winery offered Julia new winemaking opportunities from 1993-2005 and the chance to work with consulting winemaker Merry Edwards. Merry inspired Julia’s love of the art of blending wines, an affection that would ultimately lead her to John and Nancy Lasseter. Julia served as Winery Manager and Winemaker the last four years at Lambert Bridge and a board member for the Sonoma County Vintner’s Coop for seven years, including two years as president.
Today, Julia lives in Sonoma County’s Bennett Valley on a small Pinot Noir Vineyard with her husband Bob Iantosca, Winemaster for Gloria Ferrer Caves, and their two daughters.
