The People
Emmanuel Kemiji
Co-Founder, CEO & Master Sommelier
“Live, love, honor, dream, fight, and let others attend to mediocrity.”
Emmanuel Kemiji is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. In addition to his Economics and Spanish Literature degrees, he studied Viticulture and Oenology. After graduation, he worked for the famed wine merchant, Corti Brothers in Sacramento, California, under the direction of Darrell Corti and former White House wine consultant, David Berkley. Subsequently, Kemiji acted as Ritz-Carlton Director of Wine & Spirits from 1988 to 1999, first at Laguna Niguel and then in San Francisco. In 1989 Kemiji became the 12th American to pass the Master Sommelier exam and one of 273 professionals worldwide who have received the title since the guild was established in 1969.
Kemiji formed Miura Vineyards in 1995. He thus became the first sommelier to establish a commercial winery in the United States. Soon to follow was a project in Montsant and Priorat, Spain - Clos Pissarra.
In 2020 he launched Miura Beer Works in partnership with the Red Clay Brewing Company, the first craft beers made by a Master Sommelier and a Master Brewer. That same year he completed The Miura Affair, a novel about the complex relationship formed between two men during the Spanish Civil War. 2023 saw Kemiji begin a nitro cold brew coffee project, café Islero, based around a single estate and single variety coffee.
Keith Lauck
Co-Founder
“Estaca is rooted in Sonora and guided by its people, its land, and its traditions.”
Keith Lauck attended Loyola University in Chicago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Media Studies. He began his professional career in 2001 a s Director o f Logistics and Marketing for Synergy Fine Wines, a wine and spirits distributor with offices in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Nebraska.
Lauck later became a Sales Supervisor at Reyes Holdings, a Chicago-based wholesaler, distributor, and bottler that ranks as the 7th largest privately held company in the United States. Reyes Holdings subdivisions include Reyes Beverage Group, the largest beer distributor in the United States. Since 2011 Lauck has been the Managing Partner for the Arizona operations of Synergy Fine Wine Group and has substantially expanded their portfolio of fine wines and spirits.
Jorge Alaniz
Grower
“The consistency in the care of our agave plants is reflected in the quality of Estaca.”
Jorge Alaniz was born in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. He graduated as a Certified Public Accountant, but his passion and skills led him to explore and prosper in the agricultural sector. In 1998 he founded a construction company specializing in agricultural greenhouses and by 2005, Alaniz began an agricultural company planting crops such as wheat, corn, chickpeas, and alfalfa. In 2007 he established a dairy, where he implemented innovative practices to improve production and animal welfare.
Since 2017, given the difficult situation of water shortages in the Yaqui Valley of Sonora, Alaniz began looking for a crop that had a future, was innovative and required little water, and that's when he met Bacanora consultant Fernando Miranda. Together they started a Bacanora project called Pasion. In 2024 he met Emmanuel Kemiji and Keith Lauck, and agreed to embark on the production of a world class Bacanora, ESTACA 1627, on a 2,500 acre ranch in Cabora, without ever forgetting the roots of this wondrous spirit and the obligation to take care of the land and its people.
Fernando Miranda
“Excellent processes lead to excellent Bacanoras.”
Master Distiller
Fernando Miranda was born and raised in northwest Mexico, and graduated as a Veterinary Zootechnician from the Technological Institute of Sonora. In 2017, he was tasked with finding someone to produce Bacanora for a project. He decided to take on the challenge himself. That same year he met Jorge Alaniz, interested in planting agave, with whom he shared a promising vision of producing a Bacanora.
By 2022, Fernando began to consult for a number of distilleries in Sonora, among which are 42° Bacanora, Hojas Mágicas, Sunora, Dos Ranchos, Pasión and Hasta la Muerte. Additionally in 2023, he acted as an advisor for small Bacanora producers in the Sonoran mountains, representing the Regulatory Council of Bacanora. In 2024, he became the head distiller overseeing the production of ESTACA 1627 at the Jorge Alaniz ranch.
Higinio Morales
Higinio Morales
Master Distiller
Master Distiller
“Bacanora, time proves it right, a taste of history, a majestic return.”
Higinio graduated from the Technological Institute of Hermosillo (ITH) with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Manufacturing. From 2001 till 2012 he was Head of Production and Engineering for all of northern Mexico for Domecq (part of the Pernod-Ricard group). Since 2011, Morales has been a professor of Mechanical, Civil, and Electric Engineering at the Technological Institute of Hermosillo (ITH).
In 2017 he began consulting to develop production facilities, and formulate taste profiles for some of the leading Bacanora producers in Sonora, including Aguamiel, Sunora Bacanora, and Danzari. Additionally, since 2007 he has produced Bacanora under his own label- Moralitos 45. In 2024 he joined forces with Emmanuel Kemiji and Keith Lauck, and is producing the ESTACA 1627 still strength Bacanora at his small distillery.
