Winemaking & Management Team

Winemaking

Dave Dobson, vice president, production and winemaker, brings more than a decade of head-winemaker experience to the position, most recently at Rutherford Hill. 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.

Management Team

Michael Kenton, president, most recently was national sales director for Gallo Sonoma Estate Wines. He spent the previous seven years as vice president of sales for Chateau St. Jean, where he also managed sales for Parducci Wine Cellars and VinStar Imports. He began his career at E & J Gallo, served as national sales manager for Sterling Vineyards, and was vice president and national sales manager at the Buckingham-Wile Company.

Tim O'Leary,vice president, finance, joined Artesa after nine years at Motto, Kryla and Fisher, accountants and consultants to the wine industry, where he began as a junior staff accountant and was promoted to manager with responsibility for 25 winery clients. A Certified Public Accountant, he has a degree in business administration from California State University, Sacramento.

Press Contact: Brenda Peterman, (707) 224-1668
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