Our People
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Vineyard Manager and Winemaker
Luke graduated from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Fruit Science and a minor in Wine and Viticulture. He brings to Left Coast Cellars experience in vineyard management and winemaking from his earlier work in Napa Valley at the esteemed Harlan Estate Winery in Oakville and in California's Central Coast at Meridian Vineyards in Paso Robles. Luke is committed to sustainable vineyard practices and the elemental belief that great wine begins in the vineyards, in the quality of the fruit and in the characteristics of its terroir. He joined Left Coast Cellars shortly after its establishment in 2003 and has worked hand in hand with the ownership family to develop vineyards producing excellent wines that speak of the very special sense of place of the estate. Luke and his hand selected crew and staff are dedicated to delivering the finest of handcrafted vintages in the years ahead. |
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Consumer Sales Manager
As a lifelong resident of the Willamette Valley, Devon has long been interested in the Oregon wine industry and the growing demand for its premiere varietal, Pinot Noir. After leaving a career in retail sales, she pursued an Associate of Applied Science degree in Winemaking, from Chemeketa Community College. It was this unique of blend of retail experience and winemaking knowledge that allowed her to leap into the wine business with such a broad perspective. Before Devon joined Left Coast Cellars in July 2007, she spent two years at Domaine Serene in the Dundee Hills of Oregon. Through the tasting room, wine club, web site, sales and marketing and winery events, Devon looks forward to growing and developing the Left Coast Experience for all. |
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Operations Coordinator
As a vital member of the Left Coast team, Travis brings excitement, passion and enthusiasm to all aspects of his position. First introduced to the love of wine by his grandparents, Travis has been enjoying it ever since. After discovering the burgeoning wine industry in Idaho, he left his studies in computer science, relocating to Oregon and beginning his wine career with a position as a harvest intern at Left Coast Cellars in 2007. His responsibilities have expanded according to his talents, from cellar work with Luke, to advertising design with Devon, to pouring wine in the tasting room for our customers. While not at work, Travis can be found studying enology, rock climbing and posing for photographs riding animal statues. |
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Accounting
With over 30 years in accounting and an Associate Degree in Business Technology/Office Accounting, Francie lends her specialized experience to Left Coast Cellars. A small business owner, she is much more than a money manager, bringing perspective and balance to the Left Coast operation and keeping everyone organized and informed. Francie and her husband of 25 years, Ervin, raised 5 children and now enjoy the grandparenting of the next generation of 6. Raised in Washington before moving to the Willamette Valley in 1979, Francie has a deep compassion for all and a devoted sense of community. |
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Crew Manager
Jose was born and raised in Mexico City. He attended high school in McMinnville and is equally fluent in English and Spanish. He has been working on the property for four years and lends a capable hand in every aspect of the Left Coast Cellars operation, from the vines to the wines. When he is not in the vineyard or at the winery, he can be found taking long runs or caring for his first child, a beautiful daughter, Maiya, who was born in June, 2007. |
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Vineyard Personnel
If there is anyone who embodies the heart of Left Coast Cellars and its crew, it is Baldomero. In the vineyards and in the expanding gardens of the property, his passion for life and Pinot Noir is reflected in his work. Proud to call Oregon home, he loves its climate, beauty and wine. If you are an early riser, you may be able to spot him running the property's hills, prior to beginning his workday. As our Grand Curator of vines, we can't imagine Left Coast without him. |
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Our Internship Program
Our thanks is here extended to Dr. James Kennedy, wine chemist in the Oregon State University Department of Food Science and Technology, who holds a PhD from the University of California, Davis, in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry. Dr. Kennedy has been helpful to Left Coast in a myriad of ways, among them in the placement of our interns. In 2006, we welcomed interns from the Oregon State program and from New Zealand. Welcome to Jeff Rowe who joins us from OSU for the 2007 harvest.
Our Crew
We consider our crew family, joining together to tend our vines throughout the year. They begin cane pruning the vines in early February each season, carefully hand training each vine through its annual journey from bud break to canopy management to leaf pulling and, finally, hand harvesting each fall. All this attention of our devoted vineyard crew creates what we feel is the best fruit in Oregon. We bring only the best estate grown fruit to the winery to be made into wine, processed in the gentlest manner possible.
The Artist and her Family
Cali is a member of the ownership family of Left Coast Cellars. The original artwork you see throughout this web site is of her hand, the landscapes observed directly and inspired by the beauty of the place. Cali's Cuvee is named for her. Cali spent her junior year abroad in Rio de Janeiro and has now returned to Brown University to complete her undergraduate studies there. We are hopeful her architectural studies may, someday, contribute to future building projects on the vineyard. Cali's two brothers, one older, one younger, have both worked on the vineyard during summer periods. Karleton is a graduate in Psychology of the University of Puget Sound; Taylor is a sophomore at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Their mother, for whom Suzanne's Reserve is named, aspires to develop many new talents in this vineyard life as does their father. The dream began many years ago when this then young couple was living in France. During that three year period they learned to eat, drink and live life in ways that they hadn't known in their earlier student lives in California. They visited Burgundy, and they extended their love affair to Pinot Noir. A return to the States, years of working and raising three children...and now here they all are doing their best to realize that dream in Left Coast Cellars, with the best staff imaginable. A votre sante and to our own!
