Alan Baker and Serena Lourie founded Cartograph to pursue their passion for wine after enjoying successful careers in other fields — he in public radio and she in health care and venture capital (see their bios for the full story).

In 2008, Alan was working at the Crushpad custom-crush operation in San Francisco, making Pinot noir under his Cellar Rat Cellars label. Serena, on hiatus from her job in health care, came to Crushpad to learn the craft of winemaking and wound up working with Alan. During that first season making three wines together, they discovered that they shared two things: a similar palate and the dream of pursuing a life in winemaking.

After a long shift in the winery in November 2008, Alan and Serena sat on the curb outside Crushpad and hatched a plan to make that dream come true. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Healdsburg, toting two barrels — 50 cases — of the Pinot they'd made at Crushpad. That wine became the first release under the Cartograph label, with the front of each bottle showcasing a map of the winding road that brought the couple together to create Cartograph.