Liz Dickson grew up in California’s Central Valley; her father was an auto electrician and her mother worked for the County. She thought she wanted to be a corporate attorney and work on Wall Street. But she eventually discovered her passion is for agriculture, and so she pursued a master’s degree in plant science at Cal…
The Lombardi Family has lived in Petaluma for more than 75 years, passing down the love of wine from generation to generation. But it wasn’t until 2013, that Lombardi Wines was launched to honor the family’s Italian heritage and to provide a living legacy for Tony & Christine Lombardi’s two sons, Aidan and Drew. It…
Jill Giacomini Basch grew up in Point Reyes on a dairy farm, that was started by her father, a second-generation dairy farmer. After growing his herd to over 500 dairy cows, and successfully operating a fluid-milk dairy widely recognized for its quality product, he realized that an operation of that size was placing stress on…
While attending college in the South Bay, Jay Sweet got a job at San Martin Winery where he would host guests for winetasting and sell their wines at a nearby San Jose flea market. The experience gave him the foundation for a life-long pursuit of learning about and enjoying wine. After college, he became a…
Jose Cruz grew up in Argentina on his family’s sugar cane farm. Wine was present at most family gatherings, and as a child, he was allowed occasional sips while hearing about its health benefits. He inherited his grandfather’s adventurous spirit and began his wine journey after completing his primary education. It has taken him to…
As PGWA celebrates its 5th Anniversary of the approval of the Petaluma Gap American Viticultural Area, we couldn’t think of a better person to highlight in this month’s newsletter than Doug Cover. He is a retired environmental sciences consultant and was a key member of the team, along with a few of our winemakers, growers…
Johannes Scheid grew up beside a vineyard in Germany and always knew he wanted to work in the wine industry. He graduated from Geisenheim University, the top viticulture and enology training program in his country; Walter Schug, a leading pioneer for Pinot Noir in California, came to speak to students there, and afterward, he was…
Emily Ash Lamb grew up in the best kitchens in Sonoma County and learned about food and wine from great chefs like her dad, John Ash. After graduation, when it came time to work, she pursued her dream of being a performer in LA and NYC. Like many budding performers, she also worked in restaurants…
Robert Schermeister was born in Idaho Falls and got a degree in Biochemistry. Laura Erickson was born in California, but was brought up in North Carolina. She dreamt of returning to California one day and did after college, but hated LA and moved back to Charlotte to launch her graphic design career. He thought he…
Frank Gambonini grew up on his family’s ranch off Lakeville Highway in Petaluma; Stacey grew up on the south side of Chicago. They met in 1991 and married in 1994. They have three daughters, all of whom are pursuing agriculture as a career. At one point the Gambonini’s had 600 cows on the ranch and…
Ed Grossi grew up on a dairy ranch in Marin County, along with his nine siblings; while in high school, he participated in 4-H and Future Farmers of Amerca (FFA) showing dairy cows at local fairs. After graduation from Cal Poly, working on a hay ranch and growing a fertilizer business kept him busy. In…
Meghan Delzell grew up on the east coast in Londonderry, NH. She was the drum major in her high school band and had the opportunity to march in the Rose Bowl Parade. She went on to major in Biochemistry at UNH and after college headed west. After three weeks of exploring and camping while traversing…