Sphaerics: The Time to Begin

Sphaerics: The Time to Begin.

For almost a decade, Laura Jones and Brian Ball were preparing for a winery they had yet to start. They knew they wanted to make wines together, but neither felt that ambition alone was enough to justify another label. While Laura developed her craft in Burgundy and California, Brian learned how fine-wine businesses worked, and together they saved towards a project they intended to own entirely themselves. What they were waiting for was a vineyard whose fruit would give that preparation a purpose.

When the opportunity finally arrived in 2022, it came from Upper Barn, one of California’s most celebrated Chardonnay sites. Their first harvest yielded just 200 cases, all of a wine they named If and Only If, after the condition they had placed on starting. Within three years, two more Chardonnays and a Pinot Noir had joined it, and they had acquired land of their own near Occidental on the Sonoma Coast. The pace had changed considerably, but the partnership behind Sphaerics remained the same: Laura could imagine what the fruit might become, while Brian could see how to build a lasting business around the wines.

A Shared Ambition

Neither arrived in California through a family connection to wine. Laura grew up in Wyoming and moved to Southern California to study biology, discovering only as she considered graduate programmes that winemaking could itself be a subject of study. The possibility led her to Napa for a harvest internship in 2011, where the work confirmed an interest that another harvest in New Zealand would deepen. By the autumn of 2012, she was beginning the master’s programme in viticulture and enology at UC Davis.

Brian came from outside Washington, D.C., and first developed his interest while working in restaurants during college. A subsequent career in finance took him to New York, where access to restaurants and wine strengthened an attraction that was becoming difficult to leave as a hobby. In 2009, with Wall Street offering its own reasons to reconsider his future, he moved to California to work a harvest. Two years of harvests and travel eventually brought him to Davis, where he and Laura met on their first day on campus while volunteering at a winemaking symposium.

Within days they had arranged a wine-tasting trip to Mendocino, effectively their first date, and the possibility of a winery gradually became part of a future they could imagine together. Their careers would give them different ways of working towards it. Brian’s part-time wine-sales job during his studies brought together his financial background, wine education and experience with customers, drawing him towards the commercial side of the industry. For Laura, a fellowship sponsored by the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin opened the way to Burgundy and a placement at Domaine Armand Rousseau.

Working at Rousseau, and tasting at other domaines with the family’s help, gave Laura a deeper attachment to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The varieties began to define what she and Brian hoped to make themselves, although returning to California would add another important dimension to that ambition. After working with Chris Tynan at Cliff Lede Vineyards, she was stopped one afternoon by Brad Grimes, who asked what she wanted to do next. Her answer was straightforward: she loved living in Napa and wanted to make Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Brad encouraged her to contact Mark Aubert, who was looking for an assistant winemaker.

The five years that followed brought her into sustained contact with some of California’s most accomplished expressions of both varieties. Burgundy had expanded her understanding of what they could achieve, while working alongside Mark showed her how California fruit could realize its own possibilities. As her direction became clearer, Brian was building the experience needed to support it, including through his work at Skipstone in northern Sonoma County. They continued saving and waiting, determined that when their winery did begin, they would have both the means to own it and a compelling reason to make its first wine.

The Opportunity at Upper Barn

That reason emerged through Brian’s relationship with Chris Jackson of Jackson Family Wines. During a conversation around late 2021 or early 2022, Chris mentioned how well Laura’s wines at Aubert had shown in comparative Chardonnay tastings. Brian explained that she was preparing to leave and that they hoped to start their own project, provided they could secure exceptional fruit. The Jackson family-owned Upper Barn within its Alexander Mountain estate, and Chris was willing to give them access, placing his confidence in Laura and Brian before Sphaerics had made a bottle of its own.

For Laura, the vineyard offered a connection between the work she had learned and the wines she was about to make. Its fruit had contributed to bottlings made by Helen Turley for Marcassin and Peter Michael, and later by Mark Aubert during his time at Peter Michael. The original 1982 Wente-selection plantings, at approximately 550 metres elevation, carried a history that now intersected with her own apprenticeship. Taking responsibility for that fruit meant joining a succession of winemakers who had recognized the possibilities of the same place, while finding an interpretation that belonged to her.

Laura and Brian made their first 200 cases in 2022, choosing If and Only If as a record of the patience behind them. The winery’s name, Sphaerics, references Theodosius of Bithynia’s ancient treatise on spherical geometry, connecting with Brian’s background in mathematics. That vocabulary would continue through the portfolio, but the first wine’s name had a particularly personal meaning: after years of preparation, the condition for beginning had finally been met.

California, Through Laura’s Eyes

The approach Laura brought to Upper Barn had developed through both her Burgundy experience and her years with Mark, but its purpose was firmly Californian. She wants the generosity of ripe fruit, the pleasure of a wine that fills the palate, and enough freshness to carry that richness through a sustained finish. Her description, “Burgundy inspired, but California wines”, expresses a relationship with those influences that allows the vineyards she works with to retain their own character.

At harvest, flavour is central to her decisions. She wants the grapes to taste delicious, retaining citrus while developing the stone-fruit character that comes with a little more maturity. The moment she seeks is when flavour, sugar and acidity come together for the style she has in mind, allowing California’s sunshine to be felt in the wine. Texture and tension follow from that starting point, through cellar work designed to give the fruit time and attention.

Her Chardonnays are whole-cluster pressed and fermented in barrel with indigenous yeasts, followed by full malolactic fermentation. The slow, cool process can carry primary fermentation into winter and malolactic conversion through spring, before the wines leave French oak after approximately eleven months. A further period in stainless steel allows them to settle into focus before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, preserving the texture developed in barrel while bringing greater definition to the finished wine.

Following that development is an important part of Laura’s work. She carries out her own analyses, checks individual barrels and watches how each vineyard behaves through fermentation and ageing. As Sphaerics expanded in 2023, adding Carneros for Overline and a northern Russian River Valley site for On Days and Nights, those differences became an opportunity to explore Chardonnay across contrasting landscapes. The broad winemaking approach remains consistent, with adjustments in oak, so that each site can express its particular balance of fruit, texture and freshness.

Carneros supplies their coolest source, while the Russian River vineyard occupies a warmer pocket within a generally cool region; Upper Barn brings the character of mature mountain vines. Together, they give the range a breadth that Laura and Brian had wanted from the beginning, offering different expressions and different points of entry into Sphaerics. The 2024 vintage brought those intentions into especially clear focus, with fruit that inspired confidence as it arrived at the winery and wines that carry their richness with a shared sense of energy.

Overline Chardonnay 2024 | Carneros

95/100 DWA score

Overline carries the brightness of its Carneros origins through a Chardonnay with considerable substance. Lemon zest, green apple and white peach give the fruit a crisp outline, softened by delicate flowers and a little pastry warmth. Chamomile and ginger add quieter detail, while a saline impression draws the aromas towards something more savoury. Across the palate, orchard fruit lends a supple fullness, held in shape by citrus acidity and a chalky texture that becomes especially apparent towards the finish.

That finish is central to the wine’s character. As the richer fruit falls away, lemon and salt remain, leaving the palate refreshed and the flavours clearly defined. There is an appealing ease to the way Overline moves between generosity and precision, giving it the versatility to accompany a meal without fading into the background. Its lasting impression is one of clarity, with enough texture to satisfy and a brightness that makes the next glass feel entirely natural.

On Days and Nights Chardonnay 2024 | Russian River Valley

96/100 DWA score

Texture gives On Days and Nights its immediate appeal. The entry is rounded and enveloping, carrying ripe pear, golden apple and white peach across a generous middle. A touch of cream and toasted bread adds to that sense of fullness, while citrus oil brings a brighter thread through the fruit. Its warmer Russian River Valley site finds expression in this abundance, with the wine offering a particularly inviting account of Laura’s preference for ripe Chardonnay.

The aromas echo that generosity, combining orchard fruit with flowers and gentle spice, but the palate reveals how carefully the wine’s proportions hold together. Acidity sustains the flavours through the middle, and a savoury saltiness gives the finish definition without diminishing the pleasure of its richness.

This is the most openly embracing of the three Chardonnays, a wine whose appeal belongs as much to the feeling of its texture as to the detail of its flavours. It suggests a generous table, a leisurely meal and the pleasure of letting a bottle become part of an evening. Alongside shellfish or a richer fish preparation, its ample fruit and mouthwatering finish should find a particularly comfortable setting.

If and Only If Chardonnay 2024 | Upper Barn Vineyard, Alexander Valley

98/100 DWA score

The depth of If and Only If gives the Upper Barn bottling a distinctive presence within the range. Lemon oil and quince are accompanied by white flowers, ripe stone fruit and almond pastry, with ginger and a subtle green-tea note bringing complexity around that concentrated core. The breadth of the palate allows these flavours to unfold gradually, supported by a supple texture and acidity that carries the citrus through the richer middle. A stony impression and lingering nutty detail give the finish a savoury persistence.

What holds the attention is the amount of detail contained within that breadth. The fruit is generous, yet the quieter tea, spice and mineral impressions remain discernible, extending the experience beyond the initial richness. Its long finish gives the wine a contemplative quality, inviting attention to the flavours still present after each sip. 

For Laura and Brian, Upper Barn was the place worth waiting for; this Chardonnay gives that decision a persuasive expression, bringing depth, poise and a sense of completeness to the wine that began their story.

The Return to Pinot Noir

The breadth Laura found across the three Chardonnays also made room for the other variety that had fascinated her in Burgundy. Pinot Noir had always belonged within the plans for Sphaerics, and in 2024 a relationship with the Martinelli family brought the right fruit into reach. Superset, from Frei Road and Bondi Home Ranch, became their first red wine and the blend of vineyard sources within a range whose Chardonnays each come from a single site.

Laura’s approach brings gentle extraction and careful cap management to a variety that asks different things of the cellar. She seeks a gradual malolactic fermentation through spring, extending the period before adding sulphites and following the wine through its development in barrel. The process has its own rhythm, but the attention to texture, freshness and patient maturation connects it with the whites. Chardonnay will remain the larger part of production over the long term, while Pinot Noir gives another expression to the interests that first brought Laura and Brian together.

Superset Pinot Noir 2024 | Sonoma Coast

95/100 DWA score

Rose and orange peel bring an expressive lift to Superset’s cherry and raspberry fruit, with pomegranate adding a brighter accent. Beneath the perfume lie woodland notes and peppery spice, giving the aromatic profile a savoury dimension. Those details carry into a supple, medium-bodied palate, where fine tannins provide a delicate grip around the berries. The fruit has a generous center, while freshness keeps its contours clear through the persistent finish.

Superset’s charm emerges through the interplay of perfume and texture. Its tannins give just enough definition for the earthier notes to register alongside the fruit, allowing the wine to retain a feeling of ease without becoming simple. The lingering citrus-peel and woodland impressions are especially appealing, lending a quietly savoury conclusion to its fragrant opening. As Sphaerics’ first Pinot Noir, it offers an intimate expression of Laura’s interests: a wine that draws attention through nuance, with the tactile delicacy to keep its many small details in view.

A Place of Their Own

By the time the second vintage was being released, Laura and Brian had begun to reconsider the five-year plan with which they started. Sales were encouraging, but Brian also recognized a confidence in the way customers and the trade spoke about the wines, suggesting that the project had found the audience they hoped for. Together with a vineyard-property market more favorable to buyers, that reception made it possible to consider ownership sooner than either had expected.

In late 2024, Brian asked Laura where she would choose to have a vineyard if the location were entirely up to her. She identified the area near Occidental, and in 2025 they acquired a 55-acre property there, approximately 22 hectares. Around 11–13 kilometers from the Pacific, it occupied the climatic balance they had been seeking: enough coastal influence to preserve brightness, with sufficient warmth to develop the fruit character Laura values. Brian’s description of the area as a “Goldilocks zone” connects the choice of land directly to the wines they hope to make.

Much of the vineyard had recently been redeveloped, with young vines and renewed infrastructure, allowing future growth to follow its gradual entry into production. Their first estate Pinot Noir, from the 2025 harvest, is scheduled for release in 2027, while estate Chardonnay is expected to begin with the 2027 harvest. As the vineyard matures, it will become a larger part of Sphaerics alongside the established grower sites, whose wines and relationships remain important to them.

That continuity matters to both sides of the partnership. For Laura, the existing vineyards continue to offer distinctive expressions she wants to explore, while Brian values the long-term relationships on which access to those places depends. Their own land adds another dimension, giving them the opportunity to shape a vineyard over decades and to let the development of its vines guide the next stage of the business.

Wines Meant to Be Opened

As Laura follows that development in the vineyard and cellar, Brian is building the relationships that will bring the wines to drinkers. Direct sales remain central, alongside restaurants, specialist merchants and international partners who can introduce Sphaerics to an audience beyond its immediate reach. Sommeliers are particularly important to his thinking, because their selections and recommendations help shape the way wines enter people’s lives. Placements at Chicago restaurants such as Alinea and Ever offer both recognition and a setting in which the wines can be understood through the food and hospitality around them.

Brian wants to extend that access internationally, including in Europe, preparing the commercial network before the estate begins supplying greater volumes. His approach to pricing is guided by a similar concern for how the bottles will be enjoyed. These are fine wines made in small quantities, with the structure to age, but he wants them to find their way onto tables. A bottle’s capacity to develop should enlarge the possibilities for pleasure, leaving room for the person who opens it young as well as the collector who waits.

The trust between Laura and Brian allows each to concentrate on that shared purpose through different responsibilities. They discuss the larger decisions together and taste when Laura wants another perspective, but Brian readily recognizes the particular skill needed to look beyond an unfinished wine and imagine its future. Laura brings that understanding to the cellar, while he creates the conditions in which the work can continue, drawing on the commercial experience accumulated during their years of preparation.

For Laura, each completed vintage carries its own attachment, rooted in the fruit and decisions that shaped it. Yet much of her anticipation now belongs to the estate, where more of the young vines will come into production over the next several years. The possibility of following those vines through their maturity gives the winery’s future a different timescale, one in which the wines they hope to make are bound to a place they can gradually come to understand.

After waiting a decade for the right beginning, Laura and Brian are entering another long period of learning, with the experience of their first wines behind them and land of their own ahead. Upper Barn gave their ambition its first expression; near Occidental, they now have the opportunity to nurture its next one, season by season, as the vineyard grows into the future they once could only imagine.

This article is written by our own Niels Aarts. We would like to thank Laura and Brian of Sphaerics for their generous time and the wines provided. Sphaerics is available through direct sale in the United States and in select export markets. Picture credits: Sphaerics and Alexander Rubin Photography.