Dave Dobson Dave Dobson doesn't just pay lip service to the maxim, "Great wine is made in the vineyard" he lives it. In fact, Dobson came to Artesa largely because of his belief that the winery's extraordinary vineyard holdings on both sides of the Mayacamas Mountains represented a rare opportunity. "This is a winery with history, with an amazing facility and with dedicated, smart, passionate people," Dobson said. "But what really puts it over the top are the vineyards. We're in all the right places to do amazing things: Foss Valley, Alexander Valley and, of course, Carneros. It's an embarrassment of riches." Dobson was named Vice President for Production/Winemaker at Artesa in January 2005. He brought more than a decade of head-winemaker experience to the position, most recently at Rutherford Hill. There, beginning in 2001, Dobson fashioned a remarkable turnaround story, taking the Napa Merlot producer from mediocrity to excellence in short order. The winery earned its first 90+ score from the Wine Spectator in more than a decade in 2004, the same year its 2001 Merlot was selected as one of the Top 100 Wines of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle. The key to success? Sound winery practices were important, of course, but a fanatical dedication to the winery's vineyards spelled the major difference. Throughout August, September and October, Dobson spent virtually every morning in vineyards scattered from one end of the valley to the other. He was none the worse for wear for it and the wines were dramatically improved. "It's the part of the job I love most," Dobson said, "because it's where sun, rain and soil meld into something sublime. It's where the winemaker can have a huge impact on quality by insuring even ripening and determining when to harvest and it's where you can make a huge difference. In the winery, once you've got the basics down, you're kind of working on the margins. In the vineyard, improvements can be dramatic and profound." Before his tenure at Rutherford Hill, Dobson spent six years at Kendall-Jackson, where he was responsible for making all of the winery's premium wines. Dobson's résumé also shows five years previous experience producing award-winning premium and super-premium wines. Dobson received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He studied enology between 1986-89 within the Masters of Food Science program at UC Davis. In his spare time Dobson enjoys the outdoors, hiking, camping and skiing with his wife, Britta, and three young daughters. The family lives in Sonoma.