Winery News
2009 Harvest Interns
Each year we cast our net far and wide to find a dozen souls eager to work our grapes into wine. Some come from enology programs at universities in Davis, Bordeaux, or Adelaide, and some of them just want to ditch the cube to work a harvest. They arrive with all levels of experience. We get young people who grew up in winemaking families as well as those who seek the romance of wine country, only to find out what 72 hours a week of digging, shoveling, bucketing, punching down caps, pulling hoses, and tossing barrels really feels like. This year, we have talent from the exotic locales of New Zealand; Australia; France; South Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee. The interns are truly the unsung heroes of each and every harvest. Without their diligent work we would never manage to get it all done. Thanks for the laughs, the memories and the hard work. Here’s to another harvest at The Leap.
Jo Wing, Harvest Enologist
Where are you from? Cambridge, New Zealand.
Why are you here? I want to be a winemaker when I grow up. I just finished my graduate diploma in Enology and this is my third harvest of the year. I worked in New Zealand, Australia and now I’m here. This is the one that’s going to break me, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
What’s your impression of the estate? It’s stunning.
What do you do when you’re not doing this?I’ve been planning my Halloween costume.
What was your first glass of wine? McWiggins Merlot, that’s the one that turned me into a wino. It was about $7 when I was at Uni (University).
What’s next? I can’t plan that far ahead. I’m open to wherever the industry takes me.
Seth Lucas
Where are you from? Napa, CA.
Why are you here? I was a special education teacher and I got burned-out. I grew up on a 2-acre Chardonnay vineyard, and winemaking has always been a hobby.
Did you know anything about Stags’ Leap before you came? My dad knew the winemaker here 25 years ago, and we used to come out and pick fruit when I was young. I remember driving up the long driveway and feeling really far away from everything else.
What’s your impression of the estate?? It’s incredible. I want to climb the palisades before I leave and take it all in.
Any funny stories from your time here? I’m new to this and managed to spray myself in the face with the high pressure hose.
What was your first glass of wine? It was a solid pull off a handle of Carlo Rossi.
Nick Talanoa (Big Nick)
Where are you from? Richmond, CA.
Why are you here? To try my hand at something new. I’ve always fascinated by wine. Before this I worked at a scrap metal company loading cargo ships in the bay.
What do you do when you’re not doing this? I’m a hug Giants fan, I go to the games all suited up in Giants gear.
Any funny stories from your time here? I spent a whole day looking for the Lodder Rod – that doesn’t exist, but I brought back something used for the diesel pump. It fit the description. They play this joke on the interns every year; I was the first person to ever bring something back.
What was your first glass of wine? Boone’s Strawberry Hill straight from the freezer.
What’s next? I’d like to go to Australia, Europe or Chile to make wine.
Keynan Burnett
Where are you from? South Carolina, but I live in Napa now.
Why are you here? I was living in Los Angeles. We just had a baby and moved to Napa to be closer to my wife’s family. I’ve made beer and I like fermentation science so I figured I’m in Napa, I should try wine.
What do you do when you’re not doing this? I have a degree from the New York Conservatory of Drama. I’m an actor, a writer and a father. Being a father is my number one right now.
What was your first glass of wine? Beringer White Zinfandel.
What’s next? Find a permanent job in wine, there’s no going back to anything else now.
Jordan Huffman
Where are you from? Dallas, TX, but I moved here from Nashville.
Why are you here? I was tired of the music industry and I wanted a change. I’m a vocalist and an audio engineer.
What was your first glass of wine? Woodbridge by Mondavi and I thought it rocked.
What’s next? Maybe music, maybe wine – they’re both artistic. I’d like to stay in the wine industry in the near term.
Shauna Sullivan
Where are you from? Emmett, Idaho.
Why are you here? I wanted a career change and thought wine would be interesting. I was director of a child development program.
What do you do when you’re not doing this? I coach high school and college lacrosse. I like to paint, write and read.
Any funny stories from your time here? Sending people on errands that don’t exist is a really fun activity.
What was your first glass of wine? I think it was a Merlot, college, freshman year…probably jug wine.
Sally Westbrook
Where are you from? Tazmania.
What’s your impression of the estate? It’s amazing, you don’t see too many wineries like this.
What do you do when you’re not doing this? I love to play sports, I like to socialize and I may drink, occasionally. I have been travelling as much as I can. This is my first time in the states.
Any funny stories from your time here? It’s only been two weeks and I’ve been sanitizing tanks and topping barrels. I’ll keep you posted.
What’s next? I think I’ll travel round a bit and work some more harvests. I’ve been working in an office the past year and I’m ready for something different.
Hannah Tomlinson
Where are you from? The UK.
Why are you here? I just graduated college with degrees in Geography and French, and I wanted to move away from home. I like wine, I thought it would be fun.
Did you know anything about the place before you came here? No, only that it was my boss’s favorite wine.
What’s your impression of the estate? It’s beautiful, I can’t believe I work here really.
What was your first glass of wine? A Burgundy from Volnay, I’ve still not had a glass as good as that yet.
Matt Mableson
Where are you from? Adelaide, Australia.
What do you do when you’re not doing this? I like to travel, knit and take long strolls on the beach.
Any funny stories from your time here? Not that we can publish on the Internet.
What’s your impression of the estate? It’s bonza mate (translation: really cool)
What was your first glass of wine? Does straight from the bottle count?
Sarah Lumbroso
Where are you from? The South of France.
Why are you here? I have all of my life to work in France. I wanted to see something else.
What was your first glass of wine? I can’t remember, we drink so early in France. I tasted wine when I was very young, it was always on the table.
What’s next? I’m going to go to Argentina and Australia, and then I have one year of University and one more internship to complete.
Moss Bittner
Where are you from? Just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.
Why are you here? I decided to make wine. I worked in politics before this.
What do you do when you’re not doing this? I’ve been spending a lot of time getting lost on country roads just to try to take everything in.
What’s your impression of the estate? It defies expectations. The driveway sets it all up for you. You drive through a grove of walnut trees and see the old vines, and then there’s this great modern winery.
What was your first glass of wine? I made a batch of strawberry wine in high school. It was tasty.
What’s next? I’m heading to Australia to work harvest. Things happen pretty glacially in politics and I don’t miss that. There will always be the opportunity to get back into it.
Kendrick Coakley (Viticulture Crew)
Where are you from? Napa.
Why are you here? I sent my resume to the wrong place – I sent it to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, but I accidentally called here and there was a job opening. I studied viticulture at Cal Poly; being from Napa it’s the thing to do.
Any funny stories from your time here? Can we omit that question?
What do you do when you’re not doing this? Downhill biking, surfing, climbing, and hiking.
What’s your impression of the estate? It’s unique.
What was your first glass of wine? It was probably straight from the bottle…
What’s next? Who knows, how about South Africa? That’s next.