We are winegrowers who appreciate fine wine. Whether we are farming vineyards for luxury priced wines or wines that will be competitively priced, our endgame is to grow fruit that demonstrates the purity of flavor and place.
We work collaboratively with domestic and international consultants to further ensure that our viticultural directives are well-informed and employ the newest technological advancements and research.
“The superstar consultant-oenologist has also encouraged a group of serious viticultural managers to take over a vineyard and manage it impeccably for their clients. The best of these is the guru for the great vineyards of northern California, David Abreu, and in California’s Central Coast region, Jeff Newton.”
Robert M. Parker, Jr.“The Wine Advocate”
They say “The farmer’s footprint is the best fertilizer.” Few winegrowers exemplify this quote as well as Ben Merz. Ben immigrated from the Black Forrest, Germany in grade school and spent much of his formative years working on his family’s Arabian Horse Ranch in Santa Ynez Valley. Ben earned a degree in Viticulture and Agribusiness, from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and joined CVCA immediately following his academics. Ben’s reputation as a respected viticulturist with sound judgment and a broad level of experience has promoted strong and lasting relationships with vineyard clients, winemakers and industry professionals with whom he works intimately.
Ruben was born to a large family in Mexico. After immigrating to the United States in 1989, Ruben began working with wine grapes. Over the years, Ruben has established himself as a leading winegrower in California, managing many celebrated estates. He maintains strong ties to the Hispanic community, where he is highly respected among crew foremen and ranch supervisors. His close ties to domestic and international consultants result in an understanding of viticulture that is profound, inquisitive and always relevant. He travels abroad frequently, and cites trips to the Cote Rotie as particularly formative in his understanding of Viticulture.
A former Naturalist and Biologist, Larry’s work life has never taken him far from nature. On the heels of receiving his degree in Biology from Cal Poly, Pomona, Larry owned a commercial fishing operation before continuing his studies, this time in Viticulture at U.C. Davis. In 1990, he planted the iconic Roll Ranch in Ojai, California, made famous by Adam Tolmach of The Ojai Vineyard. In addition to his vineyard management duties, Larry is adept at designing custom farming equipment, including such implements as the night harvest light trailers, which were pioneered by CVCA in Santa Barbara County.
Because Jeff’s father was a geologist, he recalls family vacations that were decidedly thematic, “We seemed to go on a lot of road trips, which would afford my father the opportunity to pull over frequently to explain the geologic history of a rock formation.” After earning two degrees in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Jeff studied Viticulture at U.C. Davis, where those early years of geologic exploration alongside his father ignited in Jeff a curiosity for terroir.