Peter Work is, without a doubt, one of the most fascinating people we’ve met in the wine industry since we launched HinsdaleCellars.com. When you listen to the Princeton-educated native of Denmark and former corporate technology consultant talk about his vision for his Ampelos Pinot Noir you quickly sense he is not in this for kicks.

With wife Rebecca (above) and son Don, the Work family literally has learned the art of winemaking from square one in less than a decade. While living in Los Angeles where he was an executive with a sizzling hot human resources outsourcing company (Exult), they acquired 82 vineyard acres, planting at first 15 acres and later 10 more in Santa Barbara County in 1999, in an area that in 2001 became known as Santa Rita Hills. They chose well, buying their vineyard in a “neighborhood” surrounded by the likes of Fiddlestix Estate, Sea Smoke, Melville et al.

Steve Woodward in Chicago

We tasted an incredible array of world-class Australian Shiraz and various blends on a very windy Thursday at The Grateful Palate’s portfolio event on the top floor of Hotel 71. One of the Aussie ladies in the crowded room (offering stunning views of Chicago’s skylines) suggested a fellow wine connoisseur check on his outbound flight. Cancellations were mounting, she advised, due to “an impending tornado.”

A bit of an overstatement, we are happy to report. But there is no risk of overtstatement in suggesting that the subtle tornado in the room this day, winemaker Chris Ringland (right), is well beyond “impending”. He has harnessed a powerful vortex of Cabernet and Shiraz excellence that finds Ringland elevated to cult status in and outside of Australia.  Recent vintages of his flagship Shiraz have left in their wake a path of wine critics fallen to their knees in awe. And as jaws have been dropping, prices have been rising. In other words, Ringland is a cult label.

The video goddesses at WinePeeks.TV, the web’s “exclusive wine video channel”, introduced us earlier this week to two gentlemen creating quite a buzz in Napa Valley’s Oak Knoll District and considerably beyond.

Coming soon, we’ll share a video peek at a conversation with Blackbird Vineyards proprietor Michael Polenske (far left) during his recent visit to the Chicago area. (We’re also about to launch Hinsdale Cellars’ new video wine tasting series. Stay tuned.). Off camera, we chatted with Blackbird’s new chief operating officer/chief marketing officer Paul Leary (second from left), former VP of marketing at Duckhorn.