Gap Stories

Shawn Walker grew up in Southern California; his wife, Vlada, was born in St Petersburg, Russia, and came to this country when she was just

Erik Ayala grew up riding horseback through the Cabernet vineyards in Napa County with his grandfather, Juan Roldan. After spending his first harvest in 2006

Megan Cline, the daughter of Fred and Nancy Cline, owners of Cline Cellars, grew up in a large Italian family in Sonoma County.  She was

Jenny Scheid grew up in Northern California and began her wine journey by taking small sips of wine that her parents purchased while enjoying their

Dan Berger was born in Brooklyn and attended New York public schools as a child. Even then, he was no stranger to the sound of

Great wines are made from great grapes, and just like winemakers and brands that earn renown with wine drinkers for the quality of their wines,

Fran Leach is a fifth-generation California girl, who loved cooking with her dad and gardening with her mom.  Family meals were always “Farm to Table”

Semra Erden, Founder of Eloquent-U, was born in Istanbul and came to the United States after earning a degree in French Literature and launching a

Mike Scott grew up on his family’s farm in Petaluma on the Western Slope of Sonoma Mountain. His father, Mark Scott, was one of the

Jacqueline Yoakum attended college in NY. Her first winemaking role was at Macari Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island, where she was introduced

Nicolas Cornejo was born in Michoacan, Mexico and raised his family in Sonoma County. He worked for many years with John Clendenen at Clendenen Vineyard Management,

Junghoon Lee grew up in Seoul, South Korea. He planned to go to technical school after graduation so that he could learn how to design

Ken Noren grew up in the Salinas Vallley, surrounded by agriculture. As a young boy, he was heavily involved in 4-H and FFA, When the

Anne Moller-Racke grew up in Oberwesel, Germany, a small town along the Rhine River.  She came to California to work a harvest, but the plan

Victoria De Crescenzo was born in Southern California, surrounded by horse farms and orange groves. Wine was not a part of her world until she

Alice van Ommeren was born in Amsterdam, lived in Belgium and France during her early childhood years, and then, as a teenager, moved to Phoenix,

Katie Carter grew up in Forestville.  Although her dad loved wine, she didn’t take any interest in the wine industry until she had an opportunity

Laurence Donald began his career with a degree in Business Administration and in a few roles in finance and sales but wanted something more.  A

Alexis dreamed of being an artist, but the pragmatic side of her thought cooking, or possibly wine, would allow her to utilize her creativity while

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

You got your degree at University of Pacific; what attracted you to attend that school?  Did you grow up in California? I grew up on

Kenny Kahn grew up in Schlater, Mississippi on a thousand-acre cotton and soybean farm. His family ate BBQ and drank Bourbon, and on special holidays

Jesus Torres Martinez, known by his friends and co-workers as “Chui,” developed his love of agriculture while working in the fields in Mexico, just as

Kim Badenfort, Director of Marketing Services, Wine Industry Network and a PGWA Board Member, grew up in Denmark. After earning a degree in Rhetoric at

Kevin Bersofsky’s dad was a “rocket scientist,” who designed control systems for ballistic missiles and spy satellites. As a kid, Kevin was challenged to “think

Sherry Crichfield grew up on a tobacco farm in Southern Ohio; the farm was regulated by the US Government’s New Deal Quota System. Her family

Randy Bennett started his career at Accenture, a well-known international business consultancy that empowers companies to be their best. Driven by his passion for wine,

Heidi’s eyes were opened to the world of wine after an internship in the lab at Jackson Family Wines. Armed with a degree in biochemistry,

Soccer was his first love. But after an athletic injury, he realized that going pro was no longer an option and he needed to find

Garry started his career as a sailor in the Navy, stationed on the USS Fletcher, where he worked mostly on the bridge of the ship,

Charlie grew up with the scent of ferments in his family’s garage in Woodside CA and has made wine for Mt Difficulty (NZ), AP Vin,

When Bea’s dad started talking about succession planning for his dairy ranch, she and her husband, Mike, thought they might finally make their dream of

Mike grew up in California and Lorraine is from Toronto; as a young adult, she didn’t even like wine. When Mike told Lorraine he wanted

Growing up, Mia Stornetta’s family almost always had wine on their dinner table, while the conversation focused on cows and grapes. During high school, she

Gray Randolph grew up in Virginia Beach in the 80’s, and started his career as a professional musician, playing drums for Locals Only, the rock

Suzanne Farver’s search for the perfect vineyard didn’t yield the results she was seeking; but once she found the perfect home with ten acres on