KELSEYVILLE — The Lake County Winegrape Commission is pleased to introduce the first “Master Vigneron Academy” class, which is meeting once a month through August, then breaking for the harvest months of September and October before concluding the one year of coursework with a meeting in November.
The first class of the Master Vigneron Program consists of 10 experienced Lake County vineyard workers. They are Amador Duran of Obsidian Ridge Vineyards, Jaime Rosas of Lyon Vineyard, Gabriel Martinez and Felix Aguilar of Bella Vista Farming Company, Jeronimo Rico of Dorn Vineyards, Antonio Batres and Alonso Raygoza of Beckstoffer Vineyards, Tarciscio “Tacho” Corona of Stokes Vineyards, Federico Gonzalez of L & L Vineyards and Gerardo Mendoza of Red Hills Vineyard.
Amador Duran, Obsidian Ridge
Amador Duran is a vineyard foreman with Nissen Vineyard Services. He has worked on the Obsidian Ridge vineyard project since 1998. His 15 years of vineyard experience, including many years on the Maxwell Ranch in Kelseyville, has given him the knowledge and skills to perform his current job as ranch foreman, he said.
Duran especially enjoys working with many people. Speaking about the range of tasks in his job, Duran said, “I love it.” He looks forward to the Master Vigneron Academy courses, noting that he hopes to gain additional information about roots and plant stock.
Duran has lived in Lake County for more than 20 years and currently resides in the Clearlake area with his wife Alejadra. The couple has four children: a son who is in college, a daughter in high school, a son in elementary school and a 2-year-old daughter.
Jaime Rosas, Lyon Vineyard
Jaime Rosas is a veteran of vineyard work in the Kelseyville area for more than 30 years. Managing all operations of winegrape production for Walt Lyon”s Vineyard, Rosas came to Lake County in the mid-1970s and spent a few years working “here and there, like everybody else” until Walt Lyon offered him full-time employment.
Rosas made the trek from Mexico in about 1974. His part-time experience included Lyon”s ranch. It was around 1978 that Rosas was “fortunate” to be asked by Walt to work for him. “Walt and I have a trust in each other. We understand each other,” Rosas said. He joked, “(Walt) trusts me enough to mess things up,” adding that his employer allows him to try out ideas and sometimes they work out.
Rosas looks forward to the Master Vigneron Program, saying he is continuing to learn new things about winegrape production. He lives near the Lakeport/Kelseyville border with his wife of 30-plus years, Marcia. The couple reared three boys who attended Kelseyville schools from kindergarten through graduation from high school.
Gabriel Martinez, Bella Vista Farming Company
Gabriel Martinez currently manages all field operations on the five Bartolucci properties of the Bella Vista Farming Company. He joined Bella Vista”s management team in 2009 following a two-year stint as supervisor at Bartolucci Vineyards. His work experience includes employment with Syd Stokes over 14 years during which he worked his way up to foreman/supervisor.
Born in La Nopalera de Ecuandureo, Michoacan, Mexico in 1963, Martinez immigrated to the United States in 1981 and settled in the Finley/Kelseyville area. He has worked in vineyards and pear orchards since.
Martinez is familiar with all cultural practices for both crops, having worked in pruning, picking, machinery operation, pesticide and fertilizer application, frost protection, irrigation and labor supervision. In 1996, Martinez became a U.S. citizen. He is married and has two sons, two daughters, and a granddaughter.
Felix Aguilar, Bella Vista Farming Company
Felix Aguilar has worked for Bella Vista Farming Company and/or Quercus Ranch since 1995. Originally hired for his mechanical and fabrication skills, he was moved into a supervisory role because of his ability to plan work and manage people.
Aguilar oversees most vineyard and orchard activities for a number of Bella Vista”s clients, as well as repair and maintenance activities for much of the farm equipment used in those operations.
Aguilar owns property in Texas and Mexico where he grows Milo. He also enjoys buying, rebuilding and selling used cars and pickups.
Aguilar was born in Progreso del Campecino Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1952, and became a U.S. citizen in 1998. He is married and has one daughter, four sons, and 14 grandchildren.
Jeronimo Rico, Dorn Vineyards
Jeronimo Rico has worked for Dorn Vineyards since the mid-1970s ? “1974 or ”75,” he says ? having previously been employed as a pear pruner in the Kelseyville area. He is a supervisor for the Dorns, overseeing every aspect of the vineyard maintenance and winegrape production.
With his experience in all vineyard skills, Rico says he especially enjoys being a foreman and supervising other workers in the production process. A resident of Kelseyville for nearly 40 years, Rico lives with his wife Adelina and daughter Esther.
Antonio Batres, Beckstoffer Vineyards
Antonio Batres has worked for Beckstoffer Vineyards for 11 years, mostly as vineyard supervisor but with experience in all vineyard skills. He came to the company with a variety of experiences in California orchard crops.
Batres studied one year at Centro de Investigaciones Agricolas del Noroeste (CIANO) in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico, research home of the “father of the green revolution” and Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug. Batres and his wife live in Lakeport with their three children, ages 10 months to 16 years.
Alonso Raygoza, Beckstoffer Vineyards
Alonso Raygoza has worked for Beckstoffer Vineyards for more than 12 years, learning vineyard skills from the ground up. He is an experienced equipment operator extraordinaire.
As harvest forklift operator, Raygoza loaded and unloaded most of the more than 2,200 valley bins that were dispatched from Beckstoffer”s operation last harvest. Raygoza lives in Clear Lake Riviera with his wife and 10-month-old daughter.
Tarciscio “Tacho” Corona, Stokes Vineyards
Tarciscio “Tacho” Corona is in his sixth year of employment with Stokes Vineyards. He has been picking grapes for Lake County growers for many more years, having been in the area for 14 years.
The 33-year-old is a foreman/supervisor who has shown his skills in working with people. He handles crews very well, according to his employer. He is also a very good equipment driver and an excellent mechanic.
Corona says his favorite vineyard activitiy is pruning. He lives in Lakeport with his wife Apolonia “Polly” and three children ages 3?, 8 and 9.
Federico Gonzalez, L & L Vineyards
Federico Gonzalez is a vineyard foreman for L&L Vineyards where he has worked for 13 years. His duties are extensive and involve every aspect of the winegrape growing process.
As foreman, Gonzalez is responsible for crew training and supervision. He drives tractors for spraying, discing and other maintenance, and actively oversees L&L”s irrigation and harvesting tasks.
Originally from the state of Michoac?n, Gonzalez lives in Lakeport with his wife Gloria. The couple”s children, three daughters and a son, range in age from 6 years to 20 years old.
Gerardo Mendoza, Red Hills Vineyard
Bringing experience from three years of work in Santa Rosa for vineyard owner Bob Mount, Gerardo Mendoza is new to vineyard work. He began working at Mount”s Lake County vineyard this year.
As a rookie to winegrape growing, Mendoza is charged with learning everything there is to know about the process. He says he is dedicating the next years of his life to doing so.
Mendoza moved from Santa Rosa to make a new home in the Red Hills region of Lake County. He and his wife Maria del Rosario have a son and a daughter, ages 5 and 2 years old.
For more information about upcoming Lake County Winegrape Commission events and workshops, check the commission”s website, www.lakecountywinegrape.org, or call the Commission office at 707-995-3421. For information about the seminar or the Master Vigneron Program, email Paul Zellman at paulz@lakecountywinegrape.org.
