The Story

For owners Jeff and Brittany Ames, Rudius Wines is so much more than a family business. It is a chance to put their personal strengths to use, while working together on a project they are passionate about. When she obtained her degrees in Economics and Mathematics at Saint Mary’s College of California, Brittany never dreamed she would wind up working in the wine industry despite growing up in the heart of the Napa Valley. But Jeff-whose appetite for all things wine never included an affinity for sales-is ecstatic that his wife fell in love with the industry when she began working with him a few short years ago. For him, the passion for wine began some time ago, but the road to founding Rudius was a long one…

Jeff Ames was born in Germany, but had a thoroughly Southern upbringing, spending most of his childhood in Memphis, and moving to Mobile, Alabama to attend high school. After high school, Jeff went to the University of Alabama, receiving a B.A. in History, with the idea of eventually attaining his law degree. But it quickly became clear to Jeff that law was not his calling, and he returned to Tennessee and began work on his Masters in Education at the University of Memphis.

Before finishing the student teaching necessary to complete his Masters, Jeff took a job selling wine at Yorkshire Liquors in Memphis to earn extra money. Wine immediately captivated him, and, without a second thought, Jeff sent off hundreds of applications for harvest positions to wineries all over Oregon and California. He got back two replies, one from Lynn Penner-Ash at Rex Hill in Oregon. Lynn said she couldn’t promise a job, only an interview, so Jeff packed up his Civic, and drove cross-country. Amazed that he actually came, Lynn immediately hired Jeff to work harvest 1998 at Rex Hill.

What was supposed to be a short hiatus from his Masters program quickly became a career and a consuming passion. Jeff came to the Napa Valley 16 April 1999, and never looked back. He learned every aspect of the wine industry from sales, at WineBid.com, to writing, while doing freelance work for Decanter Magazine. In 2001, Jeff was able to return to what he loved the most, winemaking, when he began working as assistant winemaker under Thomas Brown on projects including Schrader, Maybach, Outpost, and Tor. In 2003, he took over as head winemaker for Tor, where he continues to make extraordinary wines from some of California’s most notable vineyards.

By 2005, thanks to prudent investments and a little penny-pinching, Jeff had saved enough money to launch his own label—Rudius Wines. Always the history buff, Jeff chose the name for his label one night while watching a History Channel special on the Roman Empire. The rudius—a wooden short sword, given to gladiators who had earned their freedom by fighting bravely—seemed like the perfect symbol for a wine Jeff had struggled for years for the chance to produce. Paying homage to the Rhone wines he has always loved, Jeff’s inaugural vintage included a grenache and a syrah from the Russian River Valley. In 2006, he added additional syrahs from the Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino County, as well as a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Always looking for the chance to experiment with different fruit and make the best wines possible, Jeff now sources cabernet from two extraordinary vineyards in St Helena and Oakville, and Rhone varietals from the Halcon Vineyard in the Yorkville Highlands.

Winemaking has, and always will be, a true passion of Jeff’s. His relentless energy and commitment to perfection is evident in each and every one of the wines he produces. But more importantly, Jeff is, like most of us, a wine geek at heart—someone who loves to crack open a bottle, taste, and share his passion with the people he loves.