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When celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres or Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel want to create their own wines, they turn to vintner Jesse Katz. It’s not just because he has experience making wines in some of the finest growing regions around the world. It's not even because Wine Enthusiast named him one of its "40 Under 40 Tastemakers," or that he's the first winemaker on the Forbes "30 Under 30" list.

It’s because he speaks the language of art. His father is Andy Katz , the legendary art photographer known for his striking images taken in the vineyards with little or no digital manipulation. They have become the subject of renowned coffee-table books, and they're on the labels of Jesse’s wines from Aperture Cellars.

The name, of course, comes from a photographic term for the opening of a lens. Traveling around the world with his father, Jesse became enamored with the craft of winemaking. “You’re either born into the industry or you buy into it,” he explained to me during an interview last month.

Growing up in Boulder, Colo., Jesse knew he’d have to move to further his education — specifically in California. Jesse has thrown himself into the business, traveling around the world and returning to regions like Bordeaux and Burgundy, where he first tasted wine with his father as a preteen.

He spent time at legendary wineries like Screaming Eagle and Pétrus, and earned a reputation as a talented winemaker with a nuanced palate. In 2009 he launched Aperture , focusin.