Hervé Bruckert, Ladd Cahoon, and Dana Zimmerman established De Novo Wines in 2006. "De Novo" is Latin, meaning beginning anew.  De Novo Wines is about new beginnings and the realization of dreams.

Formation of the Team
In 2003, Hervé Bruckert found himself in the throes of surviving unexpected unemployment and divorce. These major life transitions required him to engage in a careful and honest re-evaluation of his life, his values, his dreams and his individual potential to bring these dreams to fruition.

For Hervé, creating a wine business aligned directly with his strong desire to ground himself, geographically and spiritually, in Northern California while drawing upon his roots and his formative experience of winemaking in the Alsatian region of France. “My entire family is in the wine industry in Alsace, France. I saw my uncle grow his business over the years and his role modeling continues to inspire me. My grandpa had a small vineyard also, and I remember as a kid riding in a wood barrel on the back of wagon pulled by horses.”

When Hervé invited his friend, Ladd Cahoon, to partner in the wine adventure, Ladd was also in the midst of major life changes, transitioning between jobs while assessing how he wanted to grow his career as well as his relationships. “I was in a place where I was willing and able to throw aside my natural caution,” he explains. “I saw this as an opportunity for friends to come together, to share in an adventure, and to try something that we didn’t already know how to do.”

Ladd also had a bit of winemaking in his blood – as a child, he’d helped his father make wine in their cellar at home. As an adult, Ladd's interest in wine grew, tasting wine in his father’s Sonoma pizzeria (Gramma's Pizza) and restaurant (Cal-Italia), and through his exposure to the wine industry as an environmental attorney. He worked with several wine companies conducting environmental due diligence for vineyard and winery purchases, and addressing water quality issues for wineries.

Thanks to good timing and introductions by a mutual friend, Hervé and Ladd then welcomed Dana Zimmerman, an experienced self-taught winemaker who already had won awards producing Zinfandel and other wines from the Russian River area. 

The First Vineyards
Together, Hervé, Ladd, and Dana forged important connections with vineyard owners specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel.

Canale Vineyard:  Zinfandel
Dominico Canale’s small plots of old-vine, dry-farmed Zinfandel in Dry Creek Valley, have plenty of Old World charm.  "Grandpa" Dominico's dry farming results in a Zinfandel with distinctive white and black pepper aromas.

aCURE eSTATE Vineyard: Cabernet Sauvignon
Ron Siegmund’s vineyard in Alexander Valley reflects true professionalism and perfectionism in viticulture, marked by the double-trellised vines, the solar-powered water sprinkler systems, and the great care taken to prune leaves around the grapes to maximize exposure to the sun.

In October 2004, the team hand-picked those grapes, processed them with a manual crusher and de-stemmer, then filled three 30-gallon seasoned French oak barrels with what later resulted in their first bottles of wine.


The Name, The Accolades, & Continued Growth
In honor and celebration of life’s many new beginnings, transitions, and continued growth, including their own, Ladd aptly named their new adventure De Novo Wines. 

By the following summer in 2005, the team and the vineyard owners tasted the promise of those first wines.  Shortly thereafter, they began to enter local wine competitions, including the Sonoma County Fair, winning a gold medal for their 2004 Zinfindel. 

That fall, Hervé and Ladd began privately hosting their first annual harvest party at Alpicella Vineyard to continue sharing their passion for winemaking with friends. Each September, invited guests enjoy a day in the life of winemaking. They pick grapes in the morning, enjoy a celebratory lunch, crush the fruit in the afternoon, and fill bottles of wine barreled from the previous year’s vintage.

With overwhelmingly positive feedback, growing award recognition, and repeated inquiries about purchasing their wines, 2006 marked the year that the De Novo team took their next steps to make the wine adventure a commercial business. During one of their many "official business meetings" at Café Bastille in San Francisco, the team also decided to commemorate the venue and their new beginnings by naming their now-signature Bordeaux blend, Bastille.

In 2007, De Novo submitted entries to San Francisco Wine Competition and won a double gold medal (unanimous gold by the judges) for their 2006 Cabernet and a silver medal for their 2006 Zinfandel. In February 2008, the De Novo team participated in the competition’s public tasting event, pouring their wines among the 3,000 people in attendance.

Today, De Novo Wines are available for purchase and in fine restaurants throughout the Bay Area.

“To be reborn, one needs to return to their core, to their roots and grow from there. Also, listening to my heart was a major change in my life.”

 – Hervé Bruckert

“Making wine is an inherently participatory process that people can do and enjoy together.”

 – Ladd Cahoon