Friday Feature: Angelica Cellars

Ben Feldman was born in Washington, DC and grew up in and around the city. Ever since he was too young to remember, Ben wanted to be an artist of some kind and his childhood was filled with sketching, writing, music, and eventually, acting. He attended Ithaca College, (in Ithaca, New York, where some great wine is also made) and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting. Immediately, he moved to Manhattan and after a two day stint, working at a popular bbq and jazz restaurant, he got a job acting in the Broadway play, The Graduate. Shortly after the play closed, he moved to Los Angeles and continued his career in front of cameras. He currently stars as creative maverick Michael Ginsburg in Mad Men.

Since then, the films and television shows he has acted in have funded his love for food, wine, and travel. In fact, Ben is quite sure that that is where all of his money has gone. But in his opinion, it is just those indulgences that fuel the best times in life.

Furthering his understanding and love for the world of wine and the good stuff you eat with it, Ben’s mother moved to the Luberon region in the south of France, where it is imperative that you know and love what you eat and drink. Visiting her in this medieval village, surrounded by olive trees and lavender fields and less than an hour's drive from the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region where some of his favorite wine in the world is born, Ben continued to develop his passion and love for wine. He even told Eduardo to go visit. He did and it is there, in an ancient cave, below Ben’s mother’s building, that he and Eduardo Porto Carreiro have begun a small collection of wines, to be kept there until they're ready to be enjoyed.

Wine has become a great passion of Ben's and he will forever be commited as a student of its culture and creation. Now that he has the opportunity not only to enjoy great wine but to help craft it as well, Ben couldn’t be happier with angelica cellars. And as a special thanks to his friends and family on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, the flower you see on the angelica cellars label is a rendering of one of the many poppy flowers that coat the fields of provence in brilliant puddles of scarlet and orange.

the wine...

The stylistic goal of angelica cellars is to produce outstanding wines with honest varietal characteristics that proudly express their place of origin.

Sourcing grapes from the esteemed (and sustainably farmed) White Hawk Vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley in Santa Barbara makes our job easy. The cool climate less than a marathon’s run from the Pacific creates a perfect home for even-ripening grapes with higher natural acidity. The infernally porous sandy soils push the roots of the vineyard to dig down deep for their water and, consequently, pull up incredible minerality and complexity in flavor.

Low yields, a minimal cold-soak, and native fermentation encourage the wine to be what it was meant to be with little intervention.

Go to: AngelicaCellars.com