Charles McKahn
 

The Siren song of wine lured Charles in at the young age
of 15 at a fateful dinner party hosted by his parents.
His mother reluctantly let him try a sip of the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon from the dinner table, and from there, the rest is history. 

The week after high school graduation in 2007, he started work in the cellar and laboratory at McManis Family Vineyards in his hometown of Ripon, CA. He found wine production fascinating and chose to continue his formal education in Enology at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he graduated in 2011. 

His first foray into full-time employment in wine production could not have been more fortuitous when he was hired to work the 2011 harvest under the direction of Phillip Titus at Chappellet Vineyard. After harvest, he was promoted to take
the place of Stephen Cruzan as Chappellet’s Enologist and
worked in that role for another four harvests on Pritchard Hill ultimately earning the Assistant Winemaker position. In 2016, Charles accepted the position of Winemaker at the historic William Harrison Winery in Rutherford, where his mentor Phillip had previously consulted. He spent six years honing his skills in crafting small production Bordeaux wines, earning acclaim for his Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. 

Charles has collaborated with or worked directly for Phillip for the past 14 years, culminating in his role as Winemaker for Titus Vineyards, replacing once again his good friend Stephen Cruzan. Over these years in Napa Valley, he has cultivated a wide-ranging understanding of diverse terroirs and appellations, including Pritchard Hill, Atlas Peak, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Carneros that will serve the evolution of Titus Vineyard’s wines.