History

My winemaking career has followed a long and somewhat circuitous path. I started making beer at home with the help of my oldest brother and father at the age of twelve, a hobby I have continued to pursue ever since.

At the age of 25 I went back to school at UC Davis studying Enology and Viticulture. After finishing the program I worked seasonally during harvest for a number of years.  In 1990 my family and I moved to our present ranch in Carmel Valley with the intention of starting an artisan goat and sheep cheese dairy. After discovering that that running a dairy and cheesemaking was like having harvest all year I turned once again to winemaking. I took a crush job at Bernardus Winery under Don Blackburn in fall of 1994.  I ended up staying until spring of 2005.  This was my real winemaking education. I worked first in the cellar, then as Enologist and then starting in January of 1999 as Winemaker. I held every production job there was at this 50,000 case winery.  It was a very thorough schooling, which taught me not only about winemaking but also about the extreme importance of farming. Wine is easy to mess up in the winery but it can never be better than the raw materials. Respect for this concept is the guiding force in my approach to the production of fine wine.