At Pine Ridge Vineyards, our team is passionate about producing wines that express the full character of our beautiful estate vineyards. Our vineyard manager knows every block intimately, and our winemakers are masters of artistic blending with incredible palettes of diverse terroir expressions. Everyone works together to produce wines that honor their unique origins with power, grace, and distinctive personality.
After 20 years producing highly rated Napa Valley wines, Josh Mendoza-Widaman found his way back to the Stags’ Leap district as head estate winemaker for Pine Ridge Vineyards. Josh is known for his experienced, luxury-minded palate that has produced 90+ ratings on over 90% of all wines made in his career, including Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year in 2016 with Lewis Cellars. He now oversees Pine Ridge’s estate vineyards, most notably producing elegant and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon.
Josh’s pursuit of winemaking started after working the 1999 vintage at Stags’ Leap Winery. During his first harvest spreading stems in the vineyards by moonlight, he tasted a life-changing 1997 Pahlmeyer Merlot that left him inspired to create wine. The combination of hands-on vineyard work and the incredible fruits of a winemaker’s labor sealed his desire to enter the wine world.
“My path to winemaking started with a wine that left a lasting impression that I use as inspiration in every wine I create,” Josh emphasizes.
Josh now continues the Pine Ridge Vineyards commitment to create wines that honor their remarkable origins, while allowing his experience and perspective to push the quality of Pine Ridge wines into even higher levels of terroir expression. For Josh, “coming back to the Stags Leap District where it all began for me, and to the iconic steep-walled valley at Pine Ridge Vineyards, gives me a newfound sense of determination to produce some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines that Napa Valley and the world have to offer.”
Colleen FitzGerald, Winemaker for Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier at Pine Ridge Vineyards, came to the world of wine through harvest and lab internships after earning her biochemistry degree at California Polytechnic State University. She spent several years working harvests in New Zealand and Paso Robles and at Pine Ridge Vineyards before joining the Pine Ridge Vineyards team full time.
As the Winemaker for Chenin Blanc + Viognier and an integral member of the team, Colleen provides all the necessary information—including analyses and trials—for tastings, preparing the team to make the best possible decisions for the wines. She evaluates grape ripening, tastes fermenting tanks, and helps with blending decisions.
“It’s rewarding to work as a team—problem solving, innovating, and working together to bring out the best in each of our great estate vineyards,” says Colleen.
GUSTAVO AVIÑA
Gustavo Aviña, viticulture director at Pine Ridge Vineyards, grew up helping his father farm tomatoes in Mexico. When he and his wife came to the United States in 1988, Gustavo began working with some of the finest vineyard management programs in Napa Valley.
Since 2003, Gustavo has worked intimately with every Pine Ridge Vineyards estate property. He and his team understand the soils and climates of the winery’s vineyards in five different appellations: Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros.
“Our home appellation, Stags Leap District, is very special,” he says. “The soils are like nowhere else. They drain water and automatically give the vines the stress we want, the kind of stress that develops very intense flavors in grapes.”
A product of both coasts, Tracey grew up in New Jersey before heading west to California. In between, she called Northern Virginia, DC, and New York home.
“I can’t remember a time when wine wasn’t part of family dinners and celebrations,” she recalls. By the 90s, wine had seeped into Tracey’s career path, first on the restaurant floor and then at wineries. Her extensive experience includes tasting room management positions, brand direction, sales, and marketing leadership.
Tracey strives to share with guests the same closeness she enjoys with the Pine Ridge Vineyards family of wines. “The connection is what drives me,” she says. “Whether it’s geeking out over a region, varietal, or clone, enjoying a gathering with friends or family, or sharing a new wine with guests or an account—I love how wine brings everyone together.”
Hailing from southern California, Carolyn fell for wine while at cooking school in her early 20s. There, she learned the gift of matching the right dish with the right wine, a creative quality she relies on today.
Her deep-seated passion for the industry is best expressed through food and celebration. With a guest-first mentality and deep understanding of the culinary arts, Carolyn loves working with clients and making their events distinctive and delicious. Recently, she rang in her 50th birthday with a Napa red from 1996, far and away the best wine she’s tasted.
“My favorite part of the job is seeing the end result,” she says. “I love when the guests see the table and the setting for the first time.”
After 20 years producing highly rated Napa Valley wines, Josh Mendoza-Widaman found his way back to the Stags’ Leap district as head estate winemaker for Pine Ridge Vineyards. Josh is known for his experienced, luxury-minded palate that has produced 90+ ratings on over 90% of all wines made in his career, including Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year in 2016 with Lewis Cellars. He now oversees Pine Ridge’s estate vineyards, most notably producing elegant and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon.
Josh’s pursuit of winemaking started after working the 1999 vintage at Stags’ Leap Winery. During his first harvest spreading stems in the vineyards by moonlight, he tasted a life-changing 1997 Pahlmeyer Merlot that left him inspired to create wine. The combination of hands-on vineyard work and the incredible fruits of a winemaker’s labor sealed his desire to enter the wine world.
“My path to winemaking started with a wine that left a lasting impression that I use as inspiration in every wine I create,” Josh emphasizes.
Josh now continues the Pine Ridge Vineyards commitment to create wines that honor their remarkable origins, while allowing his experience and perspective to push the quality of Pine Ridge wines into even higher levels of terroir expression. For Josh, “coming back to the Stags Leap District where it all began for me, and to the iconic steep-walled valley at Pine Ridge Vineyards, gives me a newfound sense of determination to produce some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines that Napa Valley and the world have to offer.”
Colleen FitzGerald, Winemaker for Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier at Pine Ridge Vineyards, came to the world of wine through harvest and lab internships after earning her biochemistry degree at California Polytechnic State University. She spent several years working harvests in New Zealand and Paso Robles and at Pine Ridge Vineyards before joining the Pine Ridge Vineyards team full time.
As the Winemaker for Chenin Blanc + Viognier and an integral member of the team, Colleen provides all the necessary information—including analyses and trials—for tastings, preparing the team to make the best possible decisions for the wines. She evaluates grape ripening, tastes fermenting tanks, and helps with blending decisions.
“It’s rewarding to work as a team—problem solving, innovating, and working together to bring out the best in each of our great estate vineyards,” says Colleen.
GUSTAVO AVIÑA
Gustavo Aviña, viticulture director at Pine Ridge Vineyards, grew up helping his father farm tomatoes in Mexico. When he and his wife came to the United States in 1988, Gustavo began working with some of the finest vineyard management programs in Napa Valley.
Since 2003, Gustavo has worked intimately with every Pine Ridge Vineyards estate property. He and his team understand the soils and climates of the winery’s vineyards in five different appellations: Stags Leap District, Howell Mountain, Oakville, Rutherford, and Carneros.
“Our home appellation, Stags Leap District, is very special,” he says. “The soils are like nowhere else. They drain water and automatically give the vines the stress we want, the kind of stress that develops very intense flavors in grapes.”
A product of both coasts, Tracey grew up in New Jersey before heading west to California. In between, she called Northern Virginia, DC, and New York home.
“I can’t remember a time when wine wasn’t part of family dinners and celebrations,” she recalls. By the 90s, wine had seeped into Tracey’s career path, first on the restaurant floor and then at wineries. Her extensive experience includes tasting room management positions, brand direction, sales, and marketing leadership.
Tracey strives to share with guests the same closeness she enjoys with the Pine Ridge Vineyards family of wines. “The connection is what drives me,” she says. “Whether it’s geeking out over a region, varietal, or clone, enjoying a gathering with friends or family, or sharing a new wine with guests or an account—I love how wine brings everyone together.”
Hailing from southern California, Carolyn fell for wine while at cooking school in her early 20s. There, she learned the gift of matching the right dish with the right wine, a creative quality she relies on today.
Her deep-seated passion for the industry is best expressed through food and celebration. With a guest-first mentality and deep understanding of the culinary arts, Carolyn loves working with clients and making their events distinctive and delicious. Recently, she rang in her 50th birthday with a Napa red from 1996, far and away the best wine she’s tasted.
“My favorite part of the job is seeing the end result,” she says. “I love when the guests see the table and the setting for the first time.”