Trinchero Family Estates

Our next Hispanic Heritage Month spotlight is Leti Caldera, Customer Service Account Analyst. “I’ve worked for TFE for 16 years. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to become well-versed in many areas of customer service, which has led me to be promoted to Customer Service Account Analyst. I am honored to work with my wonderful team and be part of the larger TFE family. My biggest influences have been my parents, who left Mexico and brought me and my siblings to Napa Valley for better opportunities. I am most proud of my culture and traditions, which consist of many family gatherings, which of course, include a lot of good food and drinks. My favorite dish is shrimp or fish ceviche on a hot summer day, paired with a Bieler Rosé.”

For our next Hispanic Heritage Month spotlight, we are excited to hear from Juan Zapata, District Manager, on how his upbringing and heritage has shaped his career in wine. “I joined TFE in April 2023, and it has been an amazing opportunity to foster strong business relationships, which I feel proud of. Bringing my passion for wines, spirits, and the industry has allowed me to share the importance of persistence, love, and dedication with others. These three pillars were part of what my parents taught me and gave me as a gift as a kid. Becoming a certified Sommelier and a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) has been one of the most significant achievements in my career. In the first quarter of this year, I won a national incentive trip to Italy with TFE as part of the Heritage program. I’m very proud of this achievement and look forward to seeing the wineries in Italy in the next two weeks. This is confirmation for me that anything is possible. My parents are the foundation of my life and the reason I am who I am today. Coming from a different country has challenges, but it's possible to overcome them with dedication and a passion for what you do. I’m proud to carry with me the strength of our Hispanic community. I take great pride in our culture, traditions and the identity of our people. Our diversity in food makes us unique, and we can easily pair our recipes with different wines and flavors. My mother’s recipe for the traditional Ajiaco Soup from the Capital City of Bogota, combined with a Joel Gott Pinot Grigio… delicioso!! Salud!”

Our first Hispanic Heritage employee spotlight highlights Daniel Gomez, a Receiving Agent in the Operations department at our Westside Winery. Daniel takes pride in the experience and knowledge he's gained by working across various departments, including Bottling, Quality Control and now Distribution. “Many people have influenced me and helped mold me into who I am today. They have affected my character and values. However, I do think that my dad and my mom deeply influenced me. They brought my brothers and me to the USA, looking for a better future. Thanks to their dedication and hard work, I could go to school here. I am very proud that I come from Guadalajara, Jalisco, where the best mariachis and tequila are produced. I really enjoy gathering with my family and eating my mom’s recipes. It's hard to choose my favorite, but chiles rellenos are the best, which pair with Ménage a Trois Silk Red.”

FRE is enthusiastic to announce its new role as the official non-alcoholic wine partner of Create & Cultivate. Founded by Jaclyn Johnson, Create & Cultivate is an innovative events and media company transforming the world of women's entrepreneurship and networking. By integrating FRE's premium alcohol-removed wine experiences into Create & Cultivate's innovative events and digital platforms nationwide, FRE aims to support and honor growth in all its dimensions, enriching consumers' lives and aligning with their evolving paths. https://lnkd.in/gtKvMicU

This month, we're celebrating Hispanic heritage by highlighting our outstanding employees! Join us in recognizing their incredible contributions and the Hispanic community’s lasting impact on American society.

Join us in congratulating three amazing Cellar employees who just marked 20 years with Trinchero Family Estates! We appreciate your dedication and hard work.

Continuing our Harvest spotlights, we asked Enologist Aida Santoro to share a few of her favorite Harvest memories. “My fondest harvest memory is from my first harvest in 2021. Starting as a harvest tech in the lab, my responsibilities included prepping grape samples for sulfur residue and anthocyanin analysis, hand-crushing vineyard samples, and running brix, pH, and TA on juice samples. This introduction to wine, grape, and juice analysis sparked my interest in the field, and I remember soaking up as much information as possible. I was happy to continue my journey as a full-time lab technician after the harvest season ended. One of the craziest things that happened during harvest might have been when hand-filtering a fermenting juice sample for potential ethanol analysis in the lab. When trying to push the sample through the filter, there was so much solid and pressure buildup that the juice splattered in my face and even hit the ceiling! Potential employees should know that winemaking includes various tasks and responsibilities. From performing benchtop trials, tastings, and writing work orders to spending time in the cellar reviewing and improving processes or troubleshooting different issues, no two days are the same. This dynamic work environment keeps things interesting, and there is always something new to learn.”

Join us in celebrating the retirement of two dedicated Winemaking team members, Juan Calderon and Steve Molinari. After a combined 55 years with us, they are now starting a new chapter in their lives. Congratulations and happy retirement!

For our next Harvest Spotlight, we hear from Jessica Reil, Cellar Supervisor, about her experiences during harvest at TFE: “I am the morning shift Cellar Supervisor at our Main Street Winery in St. Helena. I love training new team members who join us during the season, especially those who have not experienced a crush before. Sharing my knowledge with them is the highlight of the year for me because they are so passionate and excited about the new experience. I find that it drives my passion for the wine industry even further. Weather is the driving force behind the challenges of harvest. If it is a hot and dry year the grapes can seem to all come in at once, if it is a cold and wet year harvest can seem to drag on for months. The high fire years we’ve had in California’s recent history have been the most challenging harvests I have experienced in my career. But these are the years the team comes together and bonds the most. You are never alone in a challenging harvest; the team looks out for each other and helps everyone pull through. When you work for a family-owned winery, it feels like you sign up to become a family member. The Cellar and Winemaking departments at Main Street are one big family unit! We are a united front driven by constant communication, talking about how to produce a quality product in the safest way possible and sharing tips on how to care for our office plants! I feel especially blessed to have such a close working relationship with the winemakers at our facility. I know they care about my team as much as I do!”

Our next Harvest spotlight takes us to the vineyard as we hear from Viticulturist Kristin Fernandez. “During the chaos of harvest, it's my responsibility to scout and make sure the rest of the vineyard continues to reach quality parameters. As we continue to bring the fruit in from the vineyard, I'm preparing for any post-harvest activities to prepare the vines for dormancy. While most people are working nights, I'm still working during the day to make sure the vines remain healthy through this time. My greatest memories include the harvest of the trials and experiments we worked on all year. Bringing the fruit off those vines means learning more about how our trials impacted the 2024 vintage. The craziest thing that happens during harvest is all the wildlife that comes out; anything from wild pigs, coyotes, and barn owls to mountain lions, it's a completely different world at night. Potential employees should know that the Vineyard Department is very passionate about their work, no matter their region. I think it makes our department unique and a fun environment to work in, where people enjoy their work.”