Holy Trinity of Wine Production
In the name of the winemaker, the assistant, and cellar hand, amen.
Mother Marilia, Full of Grace
We talk endlessly about making our wine culture more European, so what’s more old-world than hiring an aspiring young winemaker from Friuli? Meet Marilia, who came to town about five years ago to work a harvest with Oak Farm Vineyards after meeting their head winemaker during an internship with Kim Crawford in New Zealand. Realizing Marilia had natural talent, the winery offered her to stay on for another harvest. Imagine you’re a young Italian girl working her second harvest in California wine country from dawn till dusk. Life is sweet, but then a rude awakening. Suddenly, in the June before harvest, the winemaker quits. The boss trusts you as the new winemaker, and in no time, you’re calling the picks for a high-volume winery. Rolling with the punches and trusting her gut, Marilia closed her first harvest as winemaker stronger than ever. From that fateful harvest, Marilia, with her new baby boy, has called Lodi home ever since.
Marilia advises people in the industry to show off their talents. Being afraid of the spotlight means never getting seen, so step into your light and let the boss see just how good you are. Growth also requires knowing how to tackle your weaknesses. Working well on your own is one thing; leading a staff with a gentle yet firm hand is another. For guidance on how to direct, she looks to Chad Joseph, Oak Farm’s winemaking consultant, who knows how to ask for results while uplifting the team. Making the 2022 Falanghina from the Lost Slough Vineyard is straightforward from barrel to glass. Yet the struggle of making their 2023 Fiano from their estate vineyard is worth the payoff when you taste the complexity. The twinkle in a tasting room attendant's eye when they’re focused on hospitality. The spark of an attentive harvest intern who knows how to help without being told. These special moments fuel Marilia to keep pushing forward as our modern-day winemaking Madonna. With her new baby boy in one hand and a winemaking enology degree scepter in the other, Mother Marilia's powers bless the wine.
Jesus Makes Wine
You might already know Jesus Aleman from his work with Monte Rio Cellars, but I know him as one of the few genuinely lovely guys from high school. Soft-spoken with squinty eyes (Jesus didn’t know he needed glasses back then), our hometown pride left for Sonoma State after graduating from Galt High School to pursue a career in dentistry. Somewhere along the line, his interest in fermenting ale in his college dorm room turned into a job at Jessie’s Grove, where he helped with every aspect of the winery. With one ear to the ground, he watched out for winemakers with unique approaches to Lodi fruit. Naturally, this led to his discovery of Patrick Cappiello’s work with Monte Rio Cellars reimagination of historical California grapes. Between driving from Jessie’s Grove to Sonoma’s Wine Business Institute for his MBA, Jesus’ relationship with selling grapes to Patrick eventually turned into a job working with him as the assistant winemaker and right-hand man.
If there’s one thing to learn from Jesus, it is the importance of growth through getting uncomfortable. The second you feel too comfortable, it may be time to move on. Get your hands dirty with work experience outside your comfort zone. Once you’ve mastered a new skill, put it to work, and it will open new doors to more career opportunities. Rinse and repeat. In the meantime, double up on your learning by reading books like Jon Bonne’s New French Wine and theses papers written by viticulture research masters like Greg La Follette. Putting all he’s learned into practice, Jesus is proud of his latest project - farming the Chandler Flame Tokay vineyard planted in the 1860s and enjoying the fruit of his labor with the 2023 Monte Rio Flame Tokay. Working with grapes that push boundaries in California winemaking is exciting and rewarding. Yet it’s sometimes a struggle to sell wines from rare grapes sourced from wine regions with less understanding. So please support local wineries. Investing dollars into community wineries means the money will go back to support every person who played a hand, from grapes to bottles. It will also help fuel the winemaker, both in gas and motivation, when he needs to drive two hours across NorCal to deliver a few cases of wine.
and the Jackson of All Trades
Who do you call when you need an extra hand on the bottling line? Extra feet crushing grapes? Someone to watch the tasting room? Jackson! Born in and raised in Sebastopol, our local wine handyman was introduced to the wine industry at seventeen to work the pizza kitchen at DeLoach Winery. For the next ten years, Jackson spent his time learning every aspect of the trade with the Boisset Collection. From flying off to New York to work sales with Michelin-starred accounts to working with biodynamic vineyards, he leveled up like Mario jumping for stars. Yet the spark came during his time at a custom crush facility in Blenheim, New Zealand. Living in a staff house that was more like a frat house, he found community with other young guns who enjoyed geeking out and working in the wine industry as much as he did.
Jackson's time spent growing his skillset is now used to help his friends wineries in Sebastopol. Whether assisting Greg La Follette with Marchelle in the cellar or watching the Ryme Cellars tasting room while the owners are out of town, being around other wine brains also creates natural exposure to new ways of thinking. Finding inspiration in producers like Emme Wines working with grapes like Valdiguie from the Ricetti Vineyard and Ruth Lewandowski’s work with Riesling but in their own unique 2022 Elimilech style that is emblematic of the Cole Ranch Vineyard. All serve as inspiration for his first project, barrels of a Grenache and Albariño blend. Until Jackson is ready to start his wine venture, you can find him helping out at the Sebastapool Punchdown tasting room. Sometimes, it’s less about becoming the next overnight prodigy and more about being there for your neighbor when they need a hand.
