Our Creed
We are farmers always
We are grape growers today
We believe in preserving agriculture for future generations
We see sustainability as our compass for better farming and business
We understand that history offers a guide to making decisions in the future
We believe in continuous learning, improvement and collaboration
We are positive contributors to our community and industry
We are caretakers of the land we inherited on behalf of those who will inherit it from us
Generation after generation, we are Sonoma County Winegrowers.
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Karissa Kruse is Chief Executive Officer and President of the Sonoma County Winegrowers (SCW), a marketing and educational organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Sonoma County as one of the world’s premier grape growing regions.
Since taking over the top leadership role, Kruse has guided the strategy and implementation of Sonoma County becoming the most sustainable wine region in the world. Her forward-thinking approach has helped Sonoma County Winegrowers gain global recognition for their efforts and she’s been invited to speak at major conferences around the world.
In an effort to continue to lead in the social responsibility component of sustainability, Kruse announced the relaunch of the Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation in January 2016 with a mission to support vineyard employees and their families in the areas of healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, education, resiliency and recovery and workforce development. She currently serves as executive director of the Foundation.
Karissa earned a BS in Economics and an MBA in Marketing from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. She has 20 years of experience in various aspects of marketing, brand management, strategic planning and business development.
In January of 2017, Kruse launched the Sonoma County Center for Ag Sustainability, a think tank in partnership with the Wharton School of Business, that is focused on bringing subject matter experts from around the United States to Sonoma County to work on issues and opportunities affecting the long-term preservation of agriculture.
In January of 2020, Karissa announced that Sonoma County Winegrowers is the exclusive pilot partner with the California Land Stewardship Institute to launch a Climate Adaptation Certification, a first of its kind for agriculture. SCW has been learning for the past year how to implement best practices in carbon sequestration.
To kick-off 2022, SCW and Ford Pro announced a collaboration for Sonoma County farmers to be a living lab for going electric on their ranches. This exciting pilot program that includes charging, electric vehicles and Ford Pro Telematics software will support our local farmers in lowering their greenhouse gas emissions, optimizing their fleet efficiency and lowering operating costs.
Kruse announced her vision for the “Farm of the Future” in 2023 and is working to bring innovation acceleration to Sonoma County grape growers and the broader agricultural community through long-term scenario planning, pilot programs and partnerships.
Karissa has worked for companies such as General Mills, Universal Studios, Mattel and Dairy Management. She is also a Sonoma County grape grower.
Kruse is on the German Marshall Fund Alumni Leadership Council and FIVS Global Environmental Sustainability Working Group. Karissa recently gave a TEDx talk “Drink the Good Stuff” Karissa Kruse: Drink the Good Stuff.
She is on the Board of Directors of Memorial Hospital Community Board and the Green Music Center. Karissa is a Past Chair and Past Board Director of the United Way of Wine Country and Past Board Member for California Association of Winegrape Growers, Sonoma County Alliance, Sonoma County Farm Bureau, First 5 Sonoma County, and Sonoma County Tourism.
In 2014, Kruse was selected as a North Bay Business Journal Women in Business Award recipient and was a Forty under 40 Award recipient in 2012. Kruse was honored with the Marshall Memorial Fellowship in 2015. Karissa received the 2016 Friend of Agriculture Award from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. She was named to the 2016 and 2017 Wine Business Monthly Magazine’s Top 50 Wine Industry Leaders. In 2017, she was named to the Organic Authority’s List of “Badass Disruptors Changing Your Food System” and Food and Wine Magazine named her one of the most Innovative Women in Food & Drink. Karissa was honored by the North Bay Business Journal in 2017 with a Community Philanthropy Award. In 2018, Karissa was named A Green Leader by Wine Enthusiast and selected as the Leader of the Year by the California Association of Winegrape Growers. In 2020, Congressman Mike Thompson named Kruse Woman of the Year for his district.
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Lea joined the Sonoma County Winegrowers team in 2023. Her main responsibilities include assisting Marketing across all areas with a focus on communications, partnerships, event execution, grant management, and branding.
A Sonoma County native, Lea has a passion for the wine industry and the Sonoma County community. She started her career in hospitality and DTC roles, before transitioning to marketing focused roles and building upon her knowledge of principles and strategies. She is excited to continue her journey of marketing and love of the wine industry with the Sonoma County Winegrowers.
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Jennifer Dieckmann joined the team at Sonoma County Winegrowers in August of 2021 originally as Vice President of Operations and Business Development. In her role today, Jennifer leads all aspects of SCW’s operations and works closely with SCW President, Karissa Kruse. This includes financial and human resource management, oversight of the commission’s educational and sponsorship programs and managing the annual grower assessment process.
Jennifer has a passion for Sonoma County and a deep background in representing and promoting the region. She started her 25+ year career in hospitality and hotel management at Sonoma Mission Inn and most recently was the Vice President of Business Development at Sonoma County Tourism. Jennifer has led large teams as the General Manager for several hotel and resort businesses, as well as overseeing operations and sales efforts at those properties. She has managed hotels locally, as well as in Southern California, Indianapolis, Dallas and Nashville.
In her roles with SCT and managing group business at several hotel properties in Sonoma County, Jennifer worked extensively with meeting planners, executives, and event coordinators to bring large groups to the area and ensure their goals and expectations are met by the experience. As such, Jennifer has become an expert on all Sonoma County has to offer travelers.
In her spare time, Jennifer loves to cook, watch movies and garden. She lives in Windsor with her 15-year-old daughter, Leilani and her lab, Rocky.
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Deirdre joined Sonoma County Winegrowers in March 2025 as the Event & Marketing Manager, bringing broad experience in event planning, executive support, and operations. In this role, Deirdre oversees the strategy and execution of events and initiatives that foster engagement, collaboration, and a strong Sonoma County Winegrowers community.
With a background in the wine, hospitality, and event industries, Deirdre thrives in fast-paced environments that require creativity, strategic planning and precision. Prior to joining Sonoma County Winegrowers, she served as Chief of Staff at The Duckhorn Portfolio, where she played a key role in taking the company public, coordinating investor relations events, board meetings, and executive leadership summits. Most recently, she led workplace experience and administration at Lagunitas Brewing Co., managing large-scale corporate events and employee engagement. She began her wine career here in Sonoma County as Wine Club Manager at Dutton-Goldfield Winery.
Fluent in English, Spanish, and Afrikaans, Deirdre brings a global perspective to curating memorable events that strengthen connections and elevate brand experiences.
A proud Sebastopol resident, she enjoys exploring Sonoma County’s wine country, attending cultural events, and discovering new culinary experiences with her husband, Tiaan, and their two children.
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Jackie joined the Sonoma County Winegrowers team in 2024 as Operations Manager. Since growing up in Sonoma surrounded by the wine industry, Jackie eventually started working in DTC at a local winery in 2019. She quickly became passionate about the industry and decided to return to school obtaining a degree in Wine Studies from Santa Rosa Junior College.
She is now looking forward to working with Sonoma County Winegrowers and continuing to support the wine industry and specifically the local farmers and vineyard employees.
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Skyler joined the Sonoma County Winegrowers team in 2024 as Assistant Marketing Manager. In this role, Skyler focuses on communications, social media planning and engagement, and assists with various marketing activities.
Born and raised in Healdsburg, CA, Skyler has been exposed to the wine industry from an early age. After completing a valuable internship with Sonoma County Winegrowers last summer, Skyler graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in Agricultural Business in June 2024. She is thrilled to be back with the team and is eager to embark on this exciting new chapter with Sonoma County Winegrowers!
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100 Years of Farming in Sonoma County
The Century Club
California joined the United States in 1850, meaning we’re not even 200 years old. So it’s remarkable to think that Sonoma County has farms and ranches that have been in business for 100 years or more.
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California joined the United States in 1850, meaning we’re not even 200 years old. So it’s remarkable to think that Sonoma County has farms and ranches that have been in business for 100 years or more.
In Sonoma County growing wine grapes and making wine is a way of life, a form of sustenance, a multigenerational legacy, a way of keeping agriculture vibrant and sustained. Grapes have been planted here since 1812, when Russian traders first established Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast. By 1823, the most northern and final of California’s 21 missions was built in Sonoma County and thousands of vines were planted to provide wine to those missions.
Twelve years later, Mexico’s General Mariano Vallejo founded the town of Sonoma around the mission and planted more vines, aiming for better quality.
Seven years after California became the 31st state in the Union, Cyrus Alexander planted vines in northern Sonoma County and Agoston Haraszthy founded Buena Vista Winery, California’s first commercial winery focused on quality production. It was Haraszthy who brought 100,000 cuttings of 350 varieties from France, Germany, Italy and Spain, planting these cuttings throughout Sonoma and influencing what we grow and enjoy today.
By 1920, Sonoma County was home to 256 wineries and 22,000 vineyard acres, a thriving industry tampered only by the evils of Prohibition, enduring from 1920 to 1933, which killed all but 50 of those wineries. However, farming continued. With the allowance of home winemaking, vineyard acreage actually grew to 30,000 acres during this time.
By the early 1950s, Hanzell would plant the region’s first Pinot Noir and Chardonnay near what we now call Moon Mountain. Gail and Warren Dutton planted some of the Russian River Valley’s first Chardonnay in 1967; in 1968 Joe Rochioli Jr. planted Pinot Noir.
By 1981, Sonoma County was designated an American Viticultural Area, among the first in the United States. Two years later, Carneros, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek, Knights Valley, Russian River Valley and Green Valley were further delineated as AVAs. Today, Sonoma County has 19 separate appellations stretched across its 1.1 million acres, nearly 60,000 acres of which are planted.
In 1989, wine grapes became Sonoma County’s top earning crop as fine wines replaced bulk and jug wine production, and by 2018 Sonoma County had earned the second highest average price for grapes in the state, with Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay leading the way.
All of these families we honor as inaugural members of the Century Club from across different pockets of Sonoma County survived not only Prohibition, but phylloxera, two world wars, the Great Depression, an American population just learning about wine, changing consumer preferences, a global pandemic and so much more. But they persevered, took chances and grew our wine industry the hard way, with no short cuts. We all benefit from their hard work today. It takes a lot to make it to 100. Congratulations to all.
– Virginie Boone
