Kelsey Phelps Talks SEPPI Craft Wines

Her grandfather was an iconic figure in Napa Valley wine history. Kelsey Phelps is taking her family’s legacy forward on a slightly different path.

Joseph Phelps founded his eponymous vineyard and winery in the early Seventies after running a successful construction company for years. He brought leadership and vision to the blossoming Napa Valley wine scene. His Meritage wine, Insignia, was a groundbreaker in Napa. That red blend became one of the most recognizable wines of its time. Joseph Phelps left quite an impression on what became a world class wine region.

To his granddaughter Kelsey, Joseph was “Seppi”. He was her lovable, eccentric grandpa with the massive basement wine cellar. As she grew older, Kelsey gained admiration and inspiration for Seppi’s values, work ethic, and compassion.

Kelsey’s first dream was to become a practicing attorney. After getting her law degree and working long hours without a glimpse of the sun, she pivoted. Perhaps her grandpa’s example drew her in. In 2017 she traded a life of legal research and time sheets for work in sunlit vineyards and wine cellars. She chose a different vehicle for SEPPI Craft Wines. In lieu of Napa Cabernet, she focuses on vintage sparkling wines. These days she’s lasered in on single vineyard vintage sparklings. Enjoy our conversation about this new chapter in the Phelps family’s wine history.

The Wine Write: I assume you grew up around wine.

Kelsey: I’m lucky to have grown up in the industry. What I remember most as a kid was my grandfather’s amazing wine cellar. He had over ten thousand bottles that took over his entire basement. It wasn’t very flashy or aesthetic. You opened the door, and it was almost like a vault. Wine was on rows and rows of metal racks, floor to ceiling. It was almost like an old library. It felt like you needed the Dewey Decimal System to find a bottle. As a kid it was like a maze.

We would have wines on the table with dinner pretty much every night. It was always about what we were cooking and what wine would go well with it. To me that was just normal, but sometimes people would come over and be shocked at the number of bottles that were open! But that’s how we did it.

The Wine Write: Your first career was in law. What prompted the move to start your own wine label?

Kelsey: There were times as an attorney when I didn’t see the sun for several days at a time. I had an internal office at a big firm. I’d go to work before the sun came up. I’d leave after dark. It was grueling work. It was great training and education, but the lifestyle was very difficult. The contrast between that life and what I would see on weekend visits to Napa was enormous.

My grandfather was getting older at that point. He died right at the time that I made the switch from law to wine. I was trying to spend as much time as I could with him. I’d go up to Napa and stay at the winery to visit. The juxtaposition between my law career and the food and wine lifestyle was huge. You could feel the passion and excitement in wine. That’s what I really loved. I began to ask myself what I was doing. I told my parents that I wasn’t going to be an attorney after all.

The Wine Write: Did the Phelps name help you in launching SEPPI?

Kelsey: I think it very much helped me. I had two cousins who were working at Joseph Phelps then. I decided not to do that, and to take my own path with SEPPI. As I said, my grandad passed away at that time. In the early stages of the business it was just me on my own. I didn’t have the resources of a big winery. Where the Phelps name helped the most was in getting to talk with people with whom I wanted to work. I could call up a vineyard, tell them who I was, and ask if I could talk about working with them. The relationships my grandpa built over more than four decades in the Napa Valley opened some doors for me. I was very grateful for that.

I’ve been working on SEPPI since 2017. To this point I haven’t done much public relations. I’m now trying to get out there. The flip side of the Phelps name is that I’m my own worst critic. I worry about our wines being perfect. I put a lot of pressure on myself to live up to the Phelps reputation. That’s an internal struggle. Probably no one else even cares! So that’s the only drawback to the name. I’m really proud and grateful for the opportunities I have as a third generation wine person.

The Wine Write: Did you have a clear vision for SEPPI when you launched, or is that something that evolved?

Kelsey: It’s definitely evolved. I knew at the beginning that I wanted to make sparkling wines. I wasn’t going to do Napa Cabernet like my family was doing. I also knew that I wanted to do vintage sparkling. In the last several years I’ve focused heavily on site specific, single vineyard sparkling. Those wines have not come out yet. So that’s been the evolution of SEPPI. I didn’t have that trajectory when I launched. In the first few years making the wine, I began to think that working with specific sites would be really cool.

I wanted to do vintage from the start. This thought takes me back to my grandpa’s wine cellar. I love collecting, too. It’s a big passion of mine. I love getting wines from different regions and different years. I drink those and think about what was happening during those years. What was the political situation? What was the weather like? A lot of different things factor into a finished wine. I thought that doing vintage wines for SEPPI was a good way to showcase terroir. Looking back in a vertical tasting to see the differences vintage to vintage is really interesting. I’m looking forward to doing verticals of SEPPI from 2017 to whenever. That’s the kind of stuff I like to do.

The Wine Write: Are you looking for something in particular as you identify single vineyards from which to source?

Kelsey: Location and climate are key. I want high acid. Cooler areas deliver that. I like to look at places that I know already produce really delicious Burgundian style Pinot Noir and Chardonnay still wines. Those are usually places that get big diurnal shifts. These sites may stay foggy in the morning and not get warm until the afternoon. You get your ripening then. So those locations are the first thing.

The people involved are really important. I want to work with growers who are good people. I have to have good relationships with my growers. Obviously I want growers who are good farmers.

The history involved is also important to me. I started doing single vineyard wines in 2020. One of the vineyards I’ve used from then on is Charles Heintz Vineyards in Sonoma County. I think it’s a fourth generation operation. I think it was an apple orchard before they planted grapes in the Eighties. I love the family’s history there. It’s so cool.

I also like that so many other producers source from Charlie. You’ll find his vineyard designated bottles on still Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from some top producers. I like to see what each winemaker’s expression is of the vineyard. I enjoy the history involved when a lot of different people are using the fruit. I have fun collecting those bottles, and then comparing and contrasting them.

The Wine Write: The drinking research part of that is fun, too.

Kelsey: Exactly.

The Wine Write: Are you focusing on a specific region of California for your single vineyard sparklings?

Kelsey: The vineyards are pretty much around me…Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, and a little bit of fruit from Anderson Valley. Back in 2020 I got some Pinot Noir from Spear Vineyard in Santa Barbara County. I am doing a Blanc De Noir out of that.

It’s interesting. The sparkling production cycle is almost five years on tirage. By the time you experiment with one thing, it may be seven years before you try the wine. It’s interesting to figure out whether you’ll do that again or not. I threw a bunch of stuff at the wall at the beginning. Now I’m in the process of seeing what sticks. Sparklings are a long game.

The Wine Write: How would you describe the SEPPI style?

Kelsey: Most of the fruit I like working with is Chardonnay. My wines are pretty Chardonnay heavy. I just released my 2018 Blanc De Blanc and Brut Rose’. That Rose’ is about ninety percent Chardonnay. My favorite type of sparking is Blanc De Blanc. Those wines are light and crisp. I intend to keep all my my wines going forward in that style. Even the Blanc De Noir will be really elegant, light, and crisp.

There’s a trend these days to be no dosage. I don’t really subscribe to that. I see the dosage as a really useful tool. It’s sort of like adding salt in a recipe. You don’t want to overdo it, but adding a light touch of salt amplifies a dish. It brings everything together. It melds the flavors. I look at dosage in the same light. I do plan to continue low dosage in my wines. It’s like adding a pinch of salt.

Some of my friends tell me that my wines are very dry. I describe them as light and crisp. They’re not no dosage, but they’re not sugary, either. So I guess they are dry.

The Wine Write: What’s the sales model?

Kelsey: I’m mostly direct to consumer now. I self distribute around Healdsburg and other parts of Northern California. I’m in distribution in Virginia through a connection there. I produce so little wine. My goal is to be in a few partnership restaurants and retail stores. That would give access to more people to try the wines. I don’t have a tasting room yet, but I would like to open one. I’m looking at that possibility in the next year or two. Your readers can purchase wines via my mailing list and wine club. The website is the easiest way to get some.

The Wine Write: Did anything surprise you in starting SEPPI?

Kelsey: It’s really a lot harder than I thought! Everyone says that, right? It seems so romantic to be in the wine industry. So much of it is, but it’s also a lot of hard work. The industry is competitive. It’s highly regulated. Running your own business in any field is tough.

When I was growing up, Joseph Phelps was already well established. My mom talks about going with my grandpa when he had a case of wine in his car. He’d go store to store selling wine himself. By the time I was coming up, all that groundwork had already happened. He’d made his business a success. I compare myself often to the much bigger Joseph Phelps I knew. I need to remember that I’m just starting out, while that’s a fifty year old business.

I would not want to do anything else, but I definitely lay awake at night.

The Wine Write: There’s a lot been written lately about the downturn in wine sales. Is sparkling wine sort of immune to that trend?

Kelsey: I don’t know that it is immune. It’s still a luxury product. When discretionary spending decreases, it doesn’t help the wine industry. I do think that sparklings are a growth sector. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to go into sparklings. I thought there was not enough of it in the marketplace.

American sparkling is really interesting. We’re starting to see that you can make really delicious wines from American sites that rival Champagne. Years ago there weren’t people doing it. Just a handful of people were making sparkling here. It’s exciting to see the growth of the sector of American sparkling. People are putting the knowledge and effort that went into making domestic still wines into sparkling. We are showcasing what can be done here.

Sparkling is growing as a category. Part of that is a shift in drinking habits. Millenials are not saving sparklings for a special occasion to drink once a year. It’s become part of a lifestyle for a lot of people. You can enjoy the moment. Sparklings are often lower in alcohol and sugar. Many people like that. So sparklings are not immune to downturns, but the category is growing in spaces where other parts of the industry are not.

The Wine Write: What’s given you the most pleasure doing SEPPI?

Kelsey: I love that question. I smile thinking about it. This has just been the best experience. My day to day now may take me out in the vineyards. Pretty much every wine region is beautiful. Being outside in these gorgeous places is great. I’m making a product that’s fun and brings joy to people. I enjoy delving into the history of wine. I like collecting wines. This sounds trite, but being able to enjoy the fruits of my labor is terrific. I also love meeting other winemakers. They’re always nice, interesting folks. I love trying their wines.

If you can make the business work, working in wine is a lifestyle that can’t be beat.

The Wine Write: What are the plans for SEPPI moving forward?

Kelsey: At the beginning I was experimenting and trying to figure things out. I stayed busy making sure the wines were good. I didn’t do much in the way of publicity then. I’m getting out there now. I’m looking for more ways for people to try the wine. I have those tasting room plans. I want to get into some more restaurants and markets. So making that happen is my big goal for the next few years.

I’d like to have a Healdsburg tasting room. Healdsburg is awesome. There are so many great restaurants and wineries here. It’s not as crowded and busy as Napa. It’s a bit more accessible. It’s also more low key, which I like.

The Wine Write: What would your grandfather think about what you are doing?

Kelsey: I hope he’d be proud. I hope he’s not thinking, “What the hell is she doing?” We sold Joseph Phelps Vineyards almost two years ago. I’d been doing my own thing for several years before that. I only have one cousin who still works in that business. The rest of the family has no involvement in the wine business now. The family does have that history, but now I’m the only one going forward in the wine world. I think my grandpa would be really proud of that.

We bet he would be, too. And why not? Hard work, vision, grit, and an entrepreneurial spirit are admirable qualities. Qualities shared by Seppi and his granddaughter.

While the back story of SEPPI Craft Wines and the Phelps family’s wine history are compelling, it’s what is in these bottles that will carry the day. And these bottles speak for themselves. They’re simply delicious, fun wines to drink. The descriptors Kelsey mentioned like “crisp”, “light”, and “elegant” are spot on. These sparklings will complement most anything you put on your table. What doesn’t go with sparkling wine?

While the SEPPI lineup is fun out of the bottle, a lot of serious work went into getting them in there. Kelsey takes no shortcuts. She takes care to scout and research the most appropriate cool climate vineyards. Once that pristine fruit is picked, the slow road of Méthode Traditionnelle is applied. The goal is to express each vineyard site and the growing conditions of each vintage in the bottle. Because this is a boutique production, each bottle gets a lot of attention. Even if that makes for some sleepless nights for Ms. Phelps.

You shouldn’t lose any sleep or waste any time trying these out. The easiest way to source SEPPI now is through the website linked below. You can purchase bottles, join the wine club, or get on the mailing list in just a few minutes. Kelsey’s long term dream of a Healdsburg tasting room will be an even better get acquainted outlet. What could be more fun than that?

Until then, patience. We appreciate Kelsey Phelps sharing her family’s heritage wine story with us this week. We’re excited to see her continue to make history in the wine world.

SEPPI Craft Wines / The Wine Write