![]() I would be remiss if I didn't plug in that my wife is an excellent winemaker's spouse in that she is always understanding and supportive of the time commitment winemaking takes. I am recently married where I gained an awesome stepdaughter and am expecting a boy in March, so most of my free time is spent enjoying time with my family. Image: Preston Thomas What do you do when you are not working/making wine? We only get one shot every year to make the best wine we can, and the staying patient is one of the keys to accomplishing that. The longer I make wine, the more I find the beauty of enjoying the journey from grape to bottle each vintage provides. I enjoy instant gratification, but winemaking necessitates patience. What is the hardest part of a winemaker's job?įor me, the hardest part of being a winemaker is staying patient. The best winemakers are humble, formulate good plans but remain flexible and hear ideas, and listen to what the year is giving them to consistently craft elegant and fine wines. In my experience, customers want to know the story behind what they are drinking, and the winemaker is the best person to tell it. Human touch matters in every facet of being a winemaker. Winemaking yields a broad and unique skill set! How do you think a winemaker can help drive marketing and sales personally?Īn intern just asked me today whether I thought automation would eventually replace winemakers, and I think my answer to that also answers this question. There is no replacing experience in this industry, but I think there are a few key skills that the best winemakers I know share - the ability to be flexible, good reasoning, being present, and a thirst for knowledge. Image: Preston Thomas What are some of the most important skills for a winemaker? I'm still not sure how I afforded wines in the $20-$30 price point in college. From there, I would visit a local wine shop every week, looking for new wines in an effort to learn as much as I could, which ultimately led to seeking out my first internship. We were still up when the sun rose the next morning. The conversation that accompanied the wine was what got me hooked. My inspiration to become a winemaker happened on Thanksgiving night in 2013 over a box of White Zin (I will not be fielding questions at this time). I grew up in moonshining, Scotch-drinking family, so wine was never really around growing up. Past that, you can find me in the vineyard seeing what the year is giving us, running analysis, populating spreadsheets and our winemaking software, meeting with upper management about plans, doing what I can to help the team out, and tasting, of course. A lot of my current role consists of coordinating/planning and putting the pieces of the puzzle in the correct spots. ![]() We have two facilities - sparkling/white production and red production - that consistently satisfy my desire for creative problem-solving. One of the aspects of being a winemaker that I enjoy most is that no two days are the same. Your current role, and what does your day look like? I said I would give myself until I was 30 to settle into a career, but my heart was set during my first vineyard walk. In 2017, I moved back to the East Coast and began working at Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg, Virginia, where I have been ever since. From there, I moved to Terre Rouge/Easton Wines where, in conjunction with my time at Andis, I realized my passion for winemaking. After realizing that I did not enjoy the prospects of being a physician, I shifted my focus to winemaking with a harvest internship at Andis Wines in Plymouth, California, in 2015. ![]() in Molecular Biology with a minor in Chemistry from The University of Tennessee - the initial goal being to become a trauma surgeon. Tell us a little about your background and journey into winemaking. Learn more about him and his experiences in the wine space below. His inspiration to become a winemaker happened on Thanksgiving night in 2013 over a box of White Zin. According to Preston Thomas, an associate winemaker at Stone Tower Winery, winemaking yields a broad and unique skill set! He grew up in a scotch-drinking family. ![]()
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