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Emmanuel

           Kemiji

Co-Founder, CEO & Master Sommelier

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. 

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