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The Break of Daylight
Every great adventure has an origin story...
Blazing New Trails
Growing up in Sonoma County, Andy Wahl witnessed the magic of wine country.
He has fond memories of meeting up with family and friends and enjoying the best of what this world-renowned wine region has to offer. Even while he was carving out a successful career as a CPA, he still found time to work harvests and received what he calls his "cellar degree", cutting his teeth under a few of the sharpest minds in the business. Around the same time, Bill was doing brand development & packaging design for wine and spirits companies, helping them to better connect with their audiences.
Upon introduction in 2011, they found they were asking some of the same questions:
"Why do killer wines need to be so damn expensive?"
"Why are premium brands telling the same old stories?"
"When was the last time you tried something truly unique?"
Over the next several months, they spent their time BS-ing of how they'd chart their own course. They talked about pushing boundaries. About making products nobody had ever had before. About new stories, they could bring to life.
As a result, Andy and Bill took a leap of faith, buying a few tons of grapes to create their first ever vintage of 400 cases.
Nearly a decade later, not only has their vision taken shape, but it continues to grow, evolve, and flourish, driven by a singular pursuit:
Excellence Over Everything.
Premium Starts in the Vineyard
"You only get out what you put in."
Of course this applies to life, but it takes on an entirely different meaning when you're obsessed with making world-class wines.
We are proud to work with some of the best grape growers in the business. Masters of their craft, our farmers' comittment to quality is what makes it possible for us to do what we do. When you factor in the world-class terroirs of their vineyards, you have the building blocks for making remarkable wines.
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Andy Wahl
Co-Founder, GM & Maker
Andy is the primary reason things stay on track around here. If you ever need to talk with someone about buying our products, he’s your guy. In addition to managing the Daylight Wine & Spirits sales team, Andy also leads the winemaking team.
Before co-founding Daylight Wine & Spirits, Andy spent long hours in a cubicle as a CPA here in the Bay Area. A native of Sonoma County, Andy and his wife Sarah live in Alameda with their daughter Harper and their son Hudson.
Andy's Instagram
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Bill Kerr
Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer
After years of consulting for other companies, helping them to tell their stories and develop their brands, Bill decided it was time to do his own thing.
As Co-Founder of Daylight, he is responsible for the brand strategy, labels, and merchandising, as well as helping to oversee the rest of the Daylight marketing team. Bill works closely with Andy as they develop strategies for selling in tomorrow's wine & spirits categories.
A native of Hastings, Nebraska, he now resides in Sonoma County with his wife Kristy (she's Daylight's Corporate Controller). Avid travelers, they can frequently be spotted out in the wild, living and working in their Airstream.
Bill's Instagram
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Bobby Donnell
Winemaker
Born and raised outside of Dallas, Texas, Bobby had the good fortune to visit California in the summer of 2000. That trip changed his life forever, as Bobby fell in love with wine and its diverse industry. He began his career at Beringer then moved on to St. Clement and Provenance before joining Amici Cellars, where he was named Winemaker. In 2017, Bobby joined the Daylight team, bringing with him his wealth of experience in making world-class wines as well as his deep connections within the grape-growing communities of Northern California. Bobby, his wife Shannon, and his three kids Savannah, Logan, and Norah live in the heart of Russian River Valley.
Bobby's Carrier Pigeon
Crafted for Real People, Not Critics
Every single drop of every individual product we craft represents our uncommon pursuit of perfection, our embrace of individuality, and our desire to share it with people from all walks of life, not just critics.
Would we be proud to share it with the people in our lives that matter most? That's our bar.
A New Frontier
Our expansion into premium spirits has ushered in a new phase in the evolution of Daylight.
After 6 years of crafting some of the finest wines around, Bill had the wild idea to put our used wine barrels to use in finishing whiskies. After agreeing that this could be a fun little project, Bobby and Andy fell deeeeeep down the distilling rabbit hole.
After 3 years and countless blends, trials, re-trials, and re-re-trials, Bobby and Andy had created two truly unique whiskies of the quality that customers expect when they pour a Daylight product.
No matter the category, our focus is always on delivering Excellence Over Everything.
Sonoma County:
A History of Independence
There’s a reason we built our home in Sonoma County. In addition to being home to some of the finest wine regions in the world, this place has managed to hold onto its past while looking to the future.
Sonoma holds historical significance as the short-lived capital of the California Republic (declaring independence from Mexico), and its rebellious spirit lives on through risk takers, craftsmen, and dreamers that choose this place as home.
Sonoma provides the perfect backdrop for Daylight, inspiring us to take risks and push boundaries as we create Excellence Over Everything.
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