BERT SANDMAN, the great-great-grandson of Charles Kohler, grew up on tales of

his famous forebear. Proud of his family's legacy, he set out to resurrect the family business by studying viticulture and enology at the University of California at Davis. After a bit of a detour (a successful 40-year career in construction), Sandman

is once again on-track with his lifelong dream of restoring Kohler & Frohling Wines

to its former glory. In 2017 he bottled a new Sonoma Mountain Zinfandel

under Kohler & Frohling's historic "Best Zinfandel" label and re-entered the

market with 25 cases of wine and plans for increasing production to

several hundred cases of various varietals. Thanks to the Sandmans, California's oldest winery is back in business — and it's here to stay.

"My desire is to recreate our family brand to help tell the story of California's

rich heritage," says Sandman.

"The Kohler & Frohling brand was ubiquitous, and I think

it is destined to become that again."