Nicole Hitchcock

Nicole Hitchcock has been on a wine path since she first discovered the magic of wine and food while working at restaurants in Carmel, California, which inspired her to study winemaking at UC Davis (with a minor in Italian language). That led to her next stop, a summer in agritourism in Italy, followed by working harvests in Napa and Australia, then shifting to wine sales.

She returned to the winemaking side at E. and J. Gallo, eventually becoming head winemaker at J Vineyards and Winery. Always learning, Nicole added an MBA from the Wine Business Institute at Sonoma State University to “expand my horizons beyond the technical aspects of wine.”

In 2022 she received the great honor of being named Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Star Awards. Wine and food have remained a central theme for Nicole.

Recently, she was part of a team that imagined and launched a visiting chef series at J called “Shifting the Lens”. They invited chefs from diverse backgrounds to create dishes from diverse cuisines that challenged the traditional boundaries of food and wine pairing.

What does sparkling wine symbolize for you?

For me, sparkling wine is a medium for camaraderie. The making of sparkling wine is a communal process; it takes many hands to bring a bottle of bubbles to fruition. It is also something that is best enjoyed in a shared experience with others, elevating the mood and enhancing the conversation.

What sparkling wines are you loving right now?

I’ve got a lot of sparkling wines in the fridge. Ultramarine is a highly allocated sparkling wine and I was lucky enough to nab a bottle from a friend. Michael Cruse launched Ultramarine to make single vineyard, single vintage sparkling wines by hand from premier sites along the California coast. Of course, the J Blanc de Noirs is a perpetual favorite for me and I always have some chilled.