RICK
TRACY grew
up on a dairy farm in coastal Oregon. He switched from
producing one healthy beverage to another when he was
drawn to the mystique of wine country in the Napa Valley
during the late 1970’s. Rick
earned his Masters Degree from the Viticulture and
Enology Department UC-Davis, and is as comfortable
in the vineyard as in the winery. His winemaking career
spans over 25 years crafting the A-Z of varietals in
both super and ultra premium quality, all receiving
both professional and consumer accolades.
Rick
enjoys being on the cutting edge of winemaking while
trusting the intuitive and sensory experience seen
from his years of winemaking discovery. Making wine
in Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Oregon, and consulting
adventures in China and Argentina have given Rick a
rich and varied palette from which to draw. His experience
as a judge at the Orange County Fair and his interest
in wine technical groups have highlighted the diversity
of California’s many unique terroirs.
Rick believes the lush fruit grown
at the base of Mt Diablo is the nexus towards crafting
a superior Contra Costa County wine.
“I am thrilled to be a part
of Tim Jochner’s elegant vision. Shadowbrook reminds
me of the family owned wineries in the Napa Valley in
the 1970’s… boutique, all about quality,
with family and friends pitching in just for the delight
of it. Tim is doing a stellar job reintroducing this
important historical appellation to the public. Shadowbrook
wines are approachable, supple, unstuffy, and can stand
up easily in quality to their Napa Valley counterparts.
RANDLE
G. JOHNSON (2005)
Consulting Winemaker, Hess Collection Winery
Director of Winemaking, Bodega Colomé
Consulting Winemaker, Shadowbrook Winery
Randle Johnson, consulting winemaker, is directly involved
with winery operations planning, wine making and final
shadowbrook blends. Randle is directly involved with
worldwide joint venture vineyards and brand development
for The Hess Collection Winery and The Hess Collection
New World Wines. worldwide joint venture vineyards and
brand development for The Hess Collection Winery and
The Hess Collection New World Wines. As winemaker for
Artezin brand wines from California and director of winemaking
for Bodega Colomé in Argentina, Randle gets to
experience two crushes every year, keeping him a very
busy man.
Randle started as
winemaker for The Hess Collection in 1983, when Donald
Hess began to set aside a portion of the grapes from
the Hess Vineyards for his own premium wine label. In
the ensuing years, Randle has continued to hone and refine
his winemaking style, working with the powerful fruit
produced by the estate vineyards to create elegant wines
of great complexity, depth and structure.
A
native Californian, Randle attended the University of
California at Davis, graduating with a M.S. in Viticulture
in 1974. As a viticulturist for the original Souverain
Winery in Rutherford, California, he gained first-hand
knowledge of grape characteristics produced by the differing
micro-climates found in the Napa Valley. Later, under
the guidance of Souverain winemaker Phil Baxter, he learned
the practical aspects of
winemaking from the floor up, as assistant winemaker.
In 1977, an opportunity came along that he could not
resist. Randle became the vineyard manager and cellarmaster
for Mayacamas Vineyards, located 2,500 feet up Mount
Veeder in the western hills of Napa Valley. This experience
fostered an intense interest in the unique attributes
of mountain grapes. At Mayacamas, experimented with different
Mount Veeder vineyards, making several distinctive experimental
wines.
After two years as
winemaker at Stags’ Leap
Winery, Randle returned to Mount Veeder in 1983, joining
the emerging winery of Donald Hess to produce exceptional
wines from the mountain grapes of Mt. Veeder. In 1996,
that vision went global with the establishment of an
import company, The Hess Collection New World Wines.
Randle currently concentrates his efforts on Artezin
wines, Bodega Colomé,
and
specialized winemaking projects.
and the Craft of Winemaking
