Jessie was born and raised in Southern California. But after earning her Bachelor’s degree and MBA at Humboldt State University, she knew Northern California was where she belonged. Her love for wine began in college during weekly Thursday night dinners with a group of close friends. She developed a passion for Pinot Noir, which inspired her to pursue a career in the wine industry, leading her family to return to her husband’s hometown of Sebastopol. Jessie spent six years at Francis Ford Coppola Winery and a year a Dutton Goldfield before joining the Gary Farrell Winery team. Jessie now lives in Bodega with her husband and two children.

Born and raised in Pacifica, California, Kevin moved to Sonoma County in 2006 to pursue a degree at Sonoma State University. A frequent visitor to the area during his childhood, Kevin shares a spiritual connection with the Russian River. He began studying wine towards the end of his college career, inspired by several friends working in the industry who taught him the ins and outs of tasting fine wines. Kevin worked at Francis Ford Coppola Winery for more than six years, beginning in 2011, where he had the chance to refine his service skills and increase his knowledge of wine. He passed the Certified Specialist of Wine exam in August of 2016. Kevin joined the Gary Farrell team in May of 2017, excited by the opportunity to represent a portfolio filled with single vineyard designate releases of some of his favorite varietals. Kevin’s true passion is educating people on the world of wine: viticulture practices, production processes, tasting and cultural significance.

A recent transplant to Northern California, Tiffany was raised in Orlando, Florida where she graduated from Rollins College in 2005 with a BA in Studio Art. A passion for creativity naturally led her to the world of food and wine where she worked for many years in fine dining restaurants across Central Florida. She eventually ended up at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse overseeing a multi-million dollar wine list that consistently won Wine Spectators coveted “Best of Award of Excellence”. Her first encounter with Gary Farrell Wines was at the Russian River Valley Pinot Forum and she was immediately enamored by their refinement and elegance. When she decided to move to Wine Country to further her education in her path to becoming a Master Sommelier, Gary Farrell Winery was a no brainer. Tiffany is currently a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and looks forward to constantly sharing her thirst for knowledge and hospitality here for years to come.

Dom is a Bay Area native. He came to Sonoma County to attend college at Sonoma State University where he received a degree in Wine Business Strategies & Marketing. It was during the pursuit of his degree that he was first introduced to the Gary Farrell brand. Dom joined the team in February 2017 and soon after passed the first level Court of Master Sommelier exam. He is passionate about the guest experience and loves sharing the nuances of site-specificity of the single vineyard program that is the GFW hallmark.

Stephen was an executive in sales and general business management for 40 years before his retirement in 2015. He was the founder and CEO of two successful technology firms that were acquired by Fortune 500 companies and held various executive positions with both privately held and publicly traded technology companies. His desire for a challenge and his love of fine wine brought him to Gary Farrell in April of 2017. Stephen and his wife Jennifer have six adult children, volunteer at several non-profits in Sonoma County and enjoy beach combing on the Sonoma coast.

Theresa Heredia joined Gary Farrell Winery team as winemaker in May of 2012. Theresa earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, before becoming a Ph.D candidate in chemistry with an emphasis in enology at U.C. Davis. She left the program to follow her calling as a hands-on winemaker. Coming off a long stint as winemaker at Freestone Vineyards in Sonoma County, Heredia brings considerable experience working with cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and small-lot, single-vineyard wines. During her tenure at Freestone, Heredia’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay brought the Joseph Phelps-owned winery significant critical acclaim. In early 2012 she was named “Winemaker to Watch” by the San Francisco Chronicle, reflecting her interest in wines that offer a pure expression of their vineyard site and her willingness to experiment with different winemaking techniques.

After earning a BA in English at East Carolina University, Brent took the long road to winemaking working first in the Art Industry, then as a Landscaper, all while managing to travel throughout Scandinavia, East Asia and Eastern Europe, where he developed an abiding passion for wine. When he returned home, he joined the wine industry at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, where he trained hands-on throughout the lab and cellar. Brent joined Gary Farrell Winery in 2005 working in the cellar. He quickly worked his way up to Cellar Master, and eventually Assistant Winemaker. He works closely with Theresa Heredia, and is responsible for all day-to-day production operations and manages the production staff. A native of North Carolina, Brent now lives in Windsor with his wife and two young daughters.

Educated in Australia, Mark earned a Diploma in Winemaking form the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE as well as a Bachelors of Applied Science (Wine Science) from Charles Sturt University. He began his career at The Scotchmans Hills Group in Geelong as a Cellar Hand, then worked various cellar positions in Geelong and the Mosel Valley before taking the position of enologist at Naturaliste Vintners in Margaret River. A stint at Gary Farrell Vineyards as a harvest intern in 2007 had Mark looking to make the move to California, and he joined the Gary Farrell staff as an enologist in July of 2009. He took a brief leave of absence to work as an enologist in Australia’s Yarra Valley before returning to our cellar.

Having grown up in Sonoma County, Peter is especially proud to work in the wine industry and participate in such a vital part of what makes this area so special. While considering his next step after graduating from UC Davis with a degree in philosophy, Peter began reflecting on his experiences growing up in wine country along with the enthusiasm and appreciation for wine and Sonoma County instilled in him by his parents. After taking a chance and getting his first taste of harvest at a custom crush facility in 2010, Peter fell in love with the challenge, intensity, and teamwork of being part of a winery crew and knew he wanted to pursue a career in wine production. Since then Peter has worked extensively within the Russian River Valley, as well as a harvest abroad in New Zealand, where his interest in producing small-lot, single vineyard wines led him to Gary Farrell in the spring of 2017. He feels incredibly fortunate to be able to contribute to the winery’s legacy of crafting elegant, balanced, terroir-driven wines and work with a world class team and exceptional vineyards to showcase the beauty of this area.

Laurence Donald, Vineyard Assistant 

Born in Canada to Kiwi parents, Laurence spent the majority of his youth living in San Francisco, and was first exposed to vineyards and wine on yearly family wine tasting outings to the Napa Valley. After graduating from Sonoma State University, he pursued a successful career in finance, but eventually gave it up and headed back to graduate school to answer the call of the vines. After earning a Viticulture/Enology degree at Lincoln University in Christchurch, New Zealand, he spent several years globetrotting and pursuing harvests in Australia and New Zealand, returning locally to work with Merry Edwards and Thomas Brown before settling in with Theresa, Brent, and Mark at Gary Farrell in May 2013. Laurence lives in Calistoga and holds dual citizenship in the US and New Zealand.

FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
Mike Bellaran, Director of Finance 

Mike grew up in New Jersey and lived in Boston for 10 years after graduating from Boston College in 1998. On a trip to Napa and Sonoma in the spring of 2008, Mike was inspired to merge his career in finance with his personal passion for food and fine wine, relocating to California in the fall of that same year. He worked for Winery Exchange for 5 years before arriving at Gary Farrell in March of 2014. Mike lives in Novato with his wife, daughter, two dogs, two cats, a fish, two shrimp, and a snail.

Alexandra Klemenok, Sales & Inventory Administrator 

Ali is a Sonoma County native; she was born in Petaluma, CA and grew up in Sebastopol, CA. Throughout her schooling years, Ali worked for her father who was a CPA. It was no surprise that she attended Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, CA to pursue a BS in Business Administration. Ali has worked in the wine industry since graduating from college. When she is not at the winery you can find her hunting big game all over the Western United States. Ali is an avid outdoorswoman, hunter and fisherwoman.

Rachelle Sanders, Winery Administrative Assistant 

Rachelle grew up in the small rural town of Orland, near Chico California. She spent much of her youth on the softball fields, where her mother coached her and her two sisters. She met her future husband, Brad at the Crazy Horse in Chico, were beer was much more prevalent than wine. Her beverage of choice now is Gary Farrell Rose’ or Chardonnay. In 2006 she left her career as a medical assistant to join Brad in his home town of Healdsburg. In the same year, she began a job share at Gary Farrell Winery as she pursued her degree in Social Behavior Sciences from SRJC. Rachelle has been with GFW for the past twelve years and while her title is Winery Administrative Assistant, her talents are plenty. You can find her in the office or in the cellar chasing weigh tags or timesheets and ready to help her teammates. Rachelle is also known for her mad baking skills, and loves treating her team member to their delight for birthdays and special occasions. Rachelle currently lives in Cloverdale with her husband and two children and can still be found on the softball field where she is the girls’ softball varsity coach for Healdsburg Senior High.