Aron Nevarez (Left) and Refugio Garcia (Right).
–The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance has awarded Aron Nevarez and Refugio Garcia as Vineyard Workers of the Year for 2020.
The Vineyard Worker award is for a vineyard team member who has contributed the most to help their team cultivate and harvest exceptional Paso Robles fruit. Through leadership, dedication, and spirit, these team members deserve recognition. This year there was a tie. Learn more about Nevarez and Garcia below:
Aron Nevarez, Vineyard Manager, Denner Vineyards
Born in the village of El Durazno in Durango, Mexico, Nevarez moved to Paso Robles in 1992 at the age of 14. As a young teen, he worked in vineyards throughout the county. From 1994 to 1997, he learned all about Rhône varietals and their growing habits while working at Tablas Creek and GlenRose Vineyards. In 1998, Nevarez took over the position of Vineyard Manager at Rozet Vineyards (now Derby). Nevarez worked alongside John Alban for 6 years, perfecting
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The Udsen Family.
–The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance has awarded Castoro Cellars with the 2020 Environmental Winery of the Year Award. Castoro Cellars has over 1,400 planted acres of organic and sustainably certified vineyards (one of the largest on the Central Coast), multiple large-scale solar array projects, a state-of-the-art wastewater system, and other sustainable practices in place.
In the process of transitioning all Castoro vineyards to organically grown, their operation has eliminated the use of any harmful additions of chemicals. This is not only important to the longevity of the soil these vines are planted in, but also to the employees who work in these vineyards. Workers in these vineyards never encounter harmful pesticides or herbicides. Castoro Cellars’ solar projects are spread across multiple vineyard and winery properties, these panels offset 100-percent of all electricity needed for day-to-day operations. Another project that is 100-percent solar powered
Chelsea Franchi.
–Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance has announced the winners of its 2020 Winter Wine Awards. The winner in the category of Cellar Worker is Chelsea Franchi, the senior assistant winemaker at Tablas Creek Vineyard.
This award is meant to recognize a cellar team member who has contributed the most to help their team produce outstanding Paso Robles wine.
Franchi grew up in the Sierra Foothills of Northern California with a family that encouraged (and applauded) her enthusiasm and fascination for wine. She attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo to study Agricultural Business and Wine and Viticulture. While working on her degree, she got a job at Tablas Creek as a Greeter/Hostess and from there, moved into the tasting room. Upon graduation in 2008, she started her production career working hard as a “cellar rat” under the guidance of Winemaker Neil Collins. To further her knowledge and appreciation of wine, she took the first level sommelier exam in the middle of h