FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JORDAN WINERY ANNOUNCES CHANGES TO WINEMAKING STAFF
Rob Davis moves entirely into new winegrower role; Maggie Kruse promoted to winemaker
HEALDSBURG, Calif. (July 15, 2019) —Rob Davis, who has worked at Jordan since the inaugural 1976 harvest and is considered the longest-tenured winemaker in Sonoma County, is transitioning into the newly created role of winegrower at Jordan, effective July 1, 2019. He has turned over lead winemaking and management responsibilities to Maggie Kruse, who has worked alongside Davis for the last 13 harvests.
Davis’s winemaking career began after he graduated from the University of California at Davis in 1976, when legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff, consulting enologist at Jordan Winery, selected Davis to be his protégé in crafting the inaugural vintage of Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Tchelistcheff continues to mentor Davis until his death in 1994. Davis’s role expanded into working with grower vineyards during the phylloxera epidemic in the mid-1990s when Jordan transitioned from estate-bottled to purchasing grapes from local growers. Since then, he has managed both grower vineyards and winemaking, spending his mornings visiting a dozen Alexander Valley grape growers for Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon and a half-dozen Russian River Valley grape growers for Jordan Chardonnay—and his afternoons at the winery working with his production staff. Davis will continue to manage all grower vineyards and serve as a mentor and advisor to Kruse and assistant winemaker John Duckett on many aspects of winemaking—just as André Tchelistcheff did for him.
“At many wine companies, managing grape growers is a full-time job, and we are grateful for all of Rob’s work to lead both the winemaking and grower relations for so many decades,” said John Jordan, CEO, and proprietor of Jordan Vineyard & Winery. “For family businesses like ours, leadership changes like this only come around two or three times in a century. This newly created position will allow Rob to focus entirely on grape-growing while letting Maggie take on more leadership responsibility after 13 years of dedication to the company.”
Kruse joined Jordan in 2006, not long after John Jordan took the reins from his father. She worked closely with Davis on wine quality improvement programs initiated by John Jordan in 2006, fine-tuning barrel and cork selections while Davis focused on finding even better vineyards for sourcing grapes. Kruse was promoted from enologist to assistant winemaker in 2009 and began overseeing all aspects of barrels and bottling. She also took over day-to-day management of the cellar that year.
Fermentation science runs deep in Kruse’s family. Her father spent his career brewing beer at Miller in Milwaukee, and she moved to California from Wisconsin right after high school graduation to pursue her winemaking studies. Kruse graduated from the University of California at Davis in 2005 and worked as an intern at J Vineyards & Winery before joining Jordan the following year.
ABOUT JORDAN WINERY
Founded in 1972, Jordan Vineyard & Winery was inspired by the great wine estates of France and the timeless
the connection between food, wine, and hospitality. Under the guidance of second-generation vintner John Jordan,
Jordan Estate is an extension of these traditions, with its iconic chateau, formal dining room, breathtaking views, sustainably farmed vineyards, natural habitat for wildlife and gardens for the chef’s inventive cuisine, offering a distinctive sense of place in Sonoma County wine country. Learn more at www.jordanwinery.com.
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Lisa Mattson
Director of Marketing & Communications
Jordan Vineyard & Winery
1474 Alexander Valley Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
office: 707-431-5268
cell: 707-228-8636
lmattson@jordanwinery.com
www.jordanwinery.com
Press releases are generated outside of Spirited magazine and the information contained does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Spirited or its parent company, Sonoma Media Investments.
