By Virginie Boone

As Sonoma County gears into harvest mode, the 20 members of the third class of the Sonoma County Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos (Voice of the Vineyards) Leadership Academy are enjoying the glow of their recent graduation and return from the trip of a lifetime to Washington, D.C.

Both took place this summer, with the trip made possible through the generous “gift of travel” from Alaska Airlines (who donated all of the airline tickets), in addition to the support of vineyard employers. During their four days in D.C., the graduates were able to tour the monuments and Capitol, spend time with Congressman Mike Thompson and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, and attend a gathering of the Congressional Wine Caucus.

The Class of 2024 was then honored at a Graduation Ceremony during the Sonoma County Winegrowers’ Sustainable Winegrowing Field Day at Shone Farm, their efforts embodying Sonoma County’s commitment to social equity.  They were recognized in front of their families and employers, creating a memorable experience for everyone.

Already highly skilled in farming, participants in the eight-month Leadership Academy focus on skills to advance themselves within both the wine industry and local community, with sessions on sustainability, financial literacy, conflict resolution, communications, human resources, education, disaster preparedness, healthcare and wine appreciation.

First established in 2002 to provide educational workshops in Spanish, the Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos is a 501(c)(3) that was relaunched in 2016 to focus on improving the lives of Sonoma County agricultural employees and their families. Its name came from the participants themselves in an effort to best represent the work they do.

This third class of participants work on a wide range of vineyards, farming grapes on single estates as well as across larger property holdings across our region.

Jesus Garcia, for example, is a Vineyard Team Leader for Bevill Vineyard Management, a company he has been with for 15 years. Based in Dry Creek Valley, Bevill manages more than 1,200 acres with the help of 100 skilled vineyard employees throughout the growing season.

Cornerstone Certified Vineyard is owned and operated by Jim Pratt, who has been farming grapes in Sonoma County since 1980. He manages about 200 acres as well as his own estate, all within the Russian River Valley, Green Valley of Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast AVAs. Sacramento Ortiz has been with him 23 years and is among the 2024 graduates, as is Amelia Lopez, a newer Cornerstone employee who has been with the company three years.

Dutton Ranch’s Miguel Carmona (with Dutton 38 years) and Antonio Lozoida (31 years) were also part of this year’s graduating class. Dutton farms 1,200 acres of premium wine grapes across 80 different sites in the Russian River Valley/Green Valley of Russian River/Sonoma Coast AVAs.

Russian River Valley’s Emeritus Vineyards is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year; graduate Juan Avila has been there for 24 of them. Emeritus has two estate vineyards, Hallberg Ranch and Pinot Hill. He serves as the lead foreman and ranch manager for Pinot Hill.

At Joseph Phelps Vineyards’ Sonoma Coast properties in Freestone, Pastorale and Quarter Moon, Misael Patino has been part of the team for five years.

Lynmar Estate farms four distinctive vineyard sites block-by-block in the Russian River Valley; helping them over the last five years is Jaime Salgado, another of this year’s Leadership Academy graduating class. Martinelli Winery’s 470 acres of estate vineyards require plenty of knowledge and manpower. Valerio Ruiz has been instrumental in that stewardship at Martinelli for 31 years.

Mauritson Farms is another long-standing farming family that has been growing grapes in the Dry Creek Valley since 1868. Six generations later, they also farm in the Rockpile and Alexander Valley AVAs as well as make their own wines under the Mauritson label. Luis Martinez has been with them for 16 years.

The Munselles of Munselle Vineyards have been farming in Alexander Valley since 1876. Employees Inocencio Vargas (12 years) and Maribel Morales (5 years) are both graduates of this year’s Leadership Academy class.

Redwood Empire Vineyard Management has been owned by Kevin and Linda Barr for more than three decades in partnership with viticulturist Tyler Klick. Graduate Gustavo Gonzalez has been with them for five years.

Ermelando Gaytan works with Sangiacomo Family Vineyards and has for nine years. The family’s 110-acre Home Ranch in Sonoma Valley was established in 1927 as a fruit tree ranch before transitioning to wine grapes in 1980. Their estate vineyards also include Green Acres, Amaral, Fedrick and Roberts Road.

In Alexander Valley, Skipstone is a 200-acre estate and winery where Jorge Andrade has worked for 17 years. Sonoma-Cutrer’s biggest vineyard is the 400-acre Vine Hill Vineyard in Russian River Valley; Les Pierres is another of its well-known sites, comprised of just over 102 acres at the southern end of the Sonoma Coast appellation near the town of Sonoma. Two of its people, Joaquin Andrade (three years) and Jose Antonio Villagomez (14 years) were among this year’s Leadership Academy class.

In Sonoma Valley, St. Francis Winery also contributed two employees to the class of 2024: Juan Ruiz (10 years) and Amadeo Lopez (16 years). St. Francis farms four estate vineyards – Behler, Lagomarsino, Rio Este and Wild Oak, with more than 400 acres across Sonoma Valley and the Russian River Valley in all.

And lastly, graduate Elias Alvarez has been an employee with Vino Farms for 24 years. The company farms around 17,000 acres in California, about 1,000 of them in Sonoma County.

Congratulations to all. Here’s to the ongoing success of the Leadership Academy class of 2024, a crucial piece of Sonoma County’s past, present and future.