Jason Moore, the winemaker for Modus Operandi Cellars, has to pinch himself almost daily as he is truly living out his dream of being a Winemaker in California.  Growing up in Dallas, Winemaker wasn’t exactly the most obvious career path that springs to mind, but after working as a waiter in several of the city’s finest restaurants, acquiring a love for all things wine, getting the go-ahead from his bride to be, and selling everything that they owned, they were off to California where yes, he had the lofty aspiration of becoming a Winemaker.

Completely self-taught thru diligent self-study and the utilization of winemaking mentors, he knew that true learning when it comes to such a stylistically artistic, yet mind blowing organic and mystifying thing such as winemaking can ONLY be accomplished through MAKING WINE. There is absolutely no substitute. He honed his craft in the garage of an elderly vineyard owner in Napa. He grew the grapes, Jason made the wine, and they split the product on bottling day.  In 2004, he officially started his professional career by launching Modus Operandi Cellars with 200 cases of Napa Cabernet.  2006 brought a new chapter where he was hired to manage the custom crush winery where he made Modus. Here, he was responsible for over 1000 tons of grapes and literally hundreds of fermentations, working closely with 14 of the wineries clients… a perfect crash course for the current chapter of his life.  He is currently the Consulting Winemaker for seven small wine brands spanning Napa, Sonoma, Sierra Foothills, and the Agoura Hills of Malibu. It has been his great honor to have had his wine poured at a historical State Dinner at the White House.  Modus Operandi has also been written into the best-selling novel The Black Box by Michael Connelly. His wine was hand selected to be paired with food prepared by Celebrity Chef Tom Coliccio at the 2013 Aspen Food and Wine festival. Lastly, he has had great success with Parker and Wine Spectator scores and reviews tightly grouping in the mid 90’s.

At 36 years of age, he am so thankful to God that he has found his passion and is fortunate enough to be able to enjoy it as a career. I believe that winemaking is an art that is supported by science, however a solid conceptual understanding of the science is also necessary.