ABOUT:

Founded in 2017 by Jennifer Leslie, Vitis Jenifera began with two barrels in her grandmother’s garage.

Jennifer landed in San Francisco in 2013, after leaving New Orleans. Her first foray into wine was based on luck; she began studying wine under an amazing woman wine director, Chris Baggetta at Michelin starred restaurant,  Quince. She then became a certified Sommelier while working at James Beard nominated AQ in the SOMA district of San Francisco. Jennifer began transitioning to winemaking through apprenticeship, working for Anthony Filiberti of Anthill Farms at Knez Winery, Marcassin under luminary Helen Turley, Armida, Mt. Langhi Ghiran in Australia, and later Big Basin Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Between then and today was a whirlwind. She also worked at Wine.com and two prestigious fine wine distributors, Skurnik Wines and Chambers & Chambers, learning all aspects of the wine industry. Jennifer was finally able to dedicate herself to Vitis Jenifera full time in the wake of losing her job due to Coronavirus. Prior to this, she always worked two jobs to squeeze out as much experiential learning as possible. As of 2020, Jennifer focuses on Vitis Jenifera full time and has expanded the portfolio to six wines with the anticipation of further refining the core portfolio and adding a wine club in 2021.

OUR MISSION:

Human beings are complex, and wine made from vinfera grapes are too. Vitis Jenifera wants to make wine that is gratifying, that makes thinking fun, that gives people the opportunity to talk about their stories and their human experiences. Jennifer Leslie started Vitis Jenifera to be in control of the process, she wanted to work for herself, and test out ideas about profitability, politics, and winemaking techniques. 

Jennifer has spent a lot of time talking and thinking about wine, but has few delusions about being truly novel in an industry filled with thousands of options. Jennifer wanted to stray away from the stoically traditional and move towards something experiential, wild, and pleasurable. Vitis Jenifera is proud to work with good people with good ethics. 

Wine is all about sensuality and indulgence. But with Vitis Jenifera, we are trying to make every step forward more conscious, whether it’s recycled materials, making the packing reused/reusable, supporting causes and nonprofits with proceeds from sales. Vitis Jenifera aims to create great wines with good values and move the wine experience towards something that is good and feels good too.