The People: Louis Van Tonder - Winemaker and Vineyard Manager
Louis manages the farming of Coquelicot’s 58 acre organic vineyard and all aspects of winemaking. Born on a ranch in South Africa, Louis was immersed in raw nature from the start. Encouraged to never settle for the ordinary, Louis has traveled wide and far to carve out his life’s path. That path led him to California, where he earned a degree in Pharmacology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. During and after college, he worked assistant winemaker for Margerum Wine Company as well as Happy Canyon Vineyards honing his skill and learning from the best. 2006 marked the inception of Coquelicot Estate Vineyard and Winery as a partnership between Louis and Bernard Rosenson. Louis is married to his college sweetheart and couldn’t think of a better place to raise their son and daughter than the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley. He is the founder of The Boso Foundation, a non-profit organization with the sole purpose of providing sustainable, safe and accesable drinking water to rural communities in developing nations with no dependable access to this vital resource.
