Jeff Crawford grew up near the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, but it wasn’t until after high school when he met and became friends with a professional winemaker that he was introduced to wine. Although he had planned to pursue a career in economics, with his growing interest in wine, he began taking classes in viticulture and enology at UC Davis. After working the harvest as an intern at Gallo, he pursued winemaking for ten years at Starmont, and now leads the winemaking team at Merryvale. Jeff also earned a Level 3 Certification from WSET, and is married to Olga Karapanou Crawford, who is a Master of Wine. Here’s his story.

Where were you born and what was your early childhood like?  Was wine a part of family life?

I was born in Alaska, but I grew up Minnesota in a suburb of the Twin Cities. Wine was not part of family life growing up, but I am happy to say, it is now!

You attended SRJC and graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Economics.  How did you make the transition into the world of wine?  Did you do an internship or have any student experiences in the wine industry, or did that come long after college?

I was first exposed to wine when I moved to Hawaii shortly after I graduated from High School. It was there that I became friends with Dennis Federico, a former professional winemaker who introduced me to wine during the many dinners we would share in my time on the Big Island. When I moved to Sonoma County to pursue a degree, I helped Dennis make a small amount of ‘hobby’ wine every fall until I moved to Davis.

When did you first discover that a career in the wine industry might be possible and what motivated you to pursue this path?

In the spring of my final year at UC Davis, I was not enthralled with the idea of graduating and pursuing a career using my Economics degree. After having spent many years taking general viticulture and technology classes at Davis, much self-study, and my experience with garage winemaking, I decided to attend a job fair on campus for the V&E department. I was subsequently offered an internship for the upcoming harvest, which I used to get a full-time position on the winemaking team.

You’ve worked at Starmont and Merryvale Vineyards with increasing levels of winemaking responsibilities.  What are the most important lessons you’ve learned along your path to winemaking perfection?

I learned to be as prepared as possible, particularly during harvest, and to leave myself as much bandwidth as possible to deal with the inevitable events that can’t be planned for.

Merryvale recently brought on Jean Hoefliger as a Consulting Winemaker.  How do you split roles and what expertise does Jean bring to the team?

Jean and his team are involved with all aspects of Winemaking here at Merryvale, it’s a very collaborative relationship. I handle the daily management of the Winery and Jean and his team is there to support various strategic decisions, and in particular during the harvest season and blending throughout the year.

You’ve also earned a WSET Level 3 certification. How does the knowledge you’ve gained in the certification process complement your skills as a winemaker?

The WSET helped me build a solid foundation for a systematic approach to wine tasting, which was the biggest takeaway of that training for me.

You are married to Olga Karapanou Crawford; she is a Master of Wine and a consulting winemaker. Did you meet through your roles in the industry?

We worked at the same winery although our time there did not overlap, but we met through mutual friends after attending a birthday celebration of a friend who was still at the winery. It was late July, so Sauvignon Blanc harvest was imminent, and we ended up connecting over Winemaking details regarding that variety. It is extremely beneficial to discuss technical aspects of Winemaking with Olga when things arise, it definitely makes me a better Winemaker!

With Merryvale’s roots in Napa and being known for Cabernet Sauvignon, how and when did you and your team start making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Petaluma Gap?  What drew you to sourcing grapes from Sun Chase Vineyard?  Have you, or do you plan to, expand your range of wines from our AVA?

I spent many years of my career based in Carneros making several Chardonnays and Pinots from the area.  Having lived in Petaluma for a decade, I was quite familiar with the Petaluma Gap and the wines that it produced so the move West for our sourcing was a fairly seamless transition. Sun Chase has a great reputation for quality, and I have been impressed with the wines I tasted from that vineyard, so we were happy with the opportunity to get fruit from that vineyard. We already get Chardonnay from a couple of Petaluma Gap Sangiacomo vineyards, Robert’s Road and Lakeville. And the latest addition to our Petaluma Gap Chardonnay is Gap’s Crown vineyard.

Some winemakers prefer to barrel age their Chardonnay, and others are committed to stainless steel.  What is your preference and why?

I think it depends on the grapes and the overall goal of the program. I generally ferment/age my single vineyard Chardonnays in mostly large format barrels (puncheons) because I like the lower oxygen transmission and slightly reductive direction those barrels push the wine. But I have also had great results with stainless steel barrel and tank as well, so those are great tools to have at my disposal.

There’s a lot of talk about climate change and how it will impact wine production in the future.  Do you have particular concerns about this and if so, how is Merryvale adapting?

Overall Cabernet Sauvignon is quite resilient to heat, so I think on that front we are not too worried for now. But the potential impact that climate change may have on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir is part of the reason we decided to move our sourcing for those programs to the Sonoma Coast.

How important is travel to your personal life?  Do you have a bucket list of wine destinations?

Travel is extremely important to my wife and I, so we take every opportunity to travel that we get. A bucket list for wine destinations is hard because I want to visit everywhere! But a couple of the places that are rising to the top of my list are South Africa and the Loire Valley.

When you serve your Gap Pinot to friends and family, what do you pair it with?

This winter we made Boeuf Bourguignon a number of times, which pair quite well with that Pinot picking up on the savory mushroom notes in the dish. But one of my favorite pairings with that wine is conversation 😉, a light and fresh Pinot like this one does not need a food pairing, it is wonderful to enjoy on its own.

Do you have children and are they likely to follow in your footsteps?

No, we don’t have any children.