Jose Aceves, a 54-year veteran of Dutton Ranch, claimed the Sonoma County vineyard workforce’s highest honor over the weekend Jose Aceves was just 19 when he began working at Dutton Ranch, a sixth-generation family farm, apple orchard and vineyard in Santa Rosa. That was 1969. Fifty-four years later, Aceves still works at Dutton Ranch, where he’s gone from field worker, to tractor driver, truck driver, foreman and supervisor. Those years of hard and successful work paid off Feb. 25 when Aceves received his most prestigious title yet: Sonoma County’s Vineyard Employee of the Year. “There is no doubt we wouldn’t be as successful without Jose’s dedication and expertise all these years,” said Steve Dutton, president and co-owner of Dutton Ranch. “Vineyard workers are the backbone of the wine industry, so It’s fantastic to see him receive this honor.” Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Aceves came to Dutton Ranch with his childhood best frie

Jose Aceves, of Dutton Ranch, Named Vineyard Employee of the Year At Newly Named “Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos” Event SANTA ROSA, Calif. (February 27, 2023) – News was being delivered throughout the day at the newly named Fundación de la Voz de los Viñedos’ 5th annual Vineyard Employee Recognition Celebration. Acknowledged as one of the most innovative and prestigious awards in the winegrape industry, the Employee Recognition award salutes the accomplishments, talent and leadership of vineyard employees who contribute greatly to making Sonoma County a world-renowned wine region and sustainability leader. This year’s event was held at Saralee and Richard’s Barn at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in front 380 people including vineyard employees, their families, grape growers and community leaders. “The Employee Recognition event is my favorite of the year because we publicly honor our valued employees in front

National Apprenticeship Week is November 14-20, 2022. It is also the 85th anniversary of Registered Apprenticeship Act Celebrate with VESTA and the US Department of Labor.  VESTA Resource Center worked with Missouri State University, Missouri Department of Labor, and the US Department of Labor to create templates for 8 Registered Apprenticeships for the Grape and Wine Industry. Winemaker  Assistant Winemaker Cellar Worker Production Technician Vineyard Worker Vineyard Foreman Vineyard Manager Tasting Room Associate Please visit apprenticeship (vesta-usa.org)  for general apprenticeship information. Please visit Registered Apprenticeship Workshops (vesta-usa.org) to download the DOL approved templates to create Registered Apprenticeships for the GWI. Questions? Email vesta@missouristate.edu for more information.   

The ability to make decisions based on real data, using the latest technology, is important to the modern wine operation. This is why Allan Delmare of renowned Rappahannock Cellars in Virginia selected Process2Wine as their management system. “We have been using different winery management systems for the last two decades. Finding the right software has been a journey of trial-and-error, but then we found Wine Management Systems, now Process2Wine, for our production management in May 2015.” One of the family owners of Rappahannock Cellars (and chief distiller), Delmare has been moving his family’s business towards technology-based and data-driven decisions for winery production, and now for their vineyards as well.   Presenting not only a complete production system for winemaking and wine storage, Process2Wine offers a unique component that their competitors do not: complete (and mobile!) vineyard management. Exclusively designed for technology-driven vineya