Director of Sales and Wine Quality

Don’s story began on a humble farm in Northern California raising row-crops and livestock. He made his first wine, a barrel of Foothills Zinfandel, back in college. Upon obtaining his BFA in Art History from San Jose State, he would venture away from winemaking to establish himself as a creative entrepreneur and marketing executive for several national advertising and marketing agencies. In 2008, he regrouped to focus on agricultural initiatives at both the local and state level. In 2009 he was elected to the Napa County Office of Education and continues to serve on that board today.  

Now Don owns his own small winery in Northern California and assists wineries throughout North America with wine quality challenges. He joined his old client Nomacorc, now Vinventions, to launch a new line of zero-carbon-footprint corks derived from sugarcane biopolymers. These days, Don considers himself to be a winemaker’s winemaker: passionate, transparent and continually learning how to strengthen relationships and better understand how to make good wine. He finds himself speaking to fellow winemakers, sommeliers and wine educators on the many attributes of making and enjoying wine.