People
A Sonoma County native, Melissa attended Cal Poly SLO, earning a degree in Geology while spending summers working on active volcanoes in Alaska and Hawaii. Upon graduation she returned home to Penngrove and took a harvest position where she quickly fell in love with winemaking and has never looked back! Melissa spends her free time exploring the land with her loyal husband and loving German Shepherd. After harvest you can find her either skiing or SCUBA diving depending on the hemisphere.
Born and raised in Nebraska, Rob and his husband have happily put down roots in Sonoma County over the last 10 years. Rob brings over 25 years of experience in hospitality and wine. His journey to becoming a sommelier began in a wine bar in the Old Market neighborhood of Omaha with a bottle of Pinot Noir. Aside from a passion for wine he enjoys hiking, cooking fresh veggies from the garden, and spending time with pets.
Lindley Foss, Private Client Sales Associate
Born and raised in the wine industry, Lindley brings 40 years of wine experience to the Hirsch team. Coming from a family winery that focused on Pinot Noir, she jumped at the opportunity to join Hirsch Vineyards. A self-proclaimed foodie, when she isn’t spending time creating culinary masterpieces (also self-proclaimed) with friends and family, she gets away to Lake Tahoe.
David Hirsch, Owner and Chief Bug
Bought the property that became Hirsch Vineyards in 1978; planted The Old Vineyard to Pinot Noir and Riesling in 1980. Quit day job in 1987 to develop vineyards: 44 acres planted 1990-1996; 25 acres planted 2002-03. Responsible for reminding everyone ad nauseam that our goal is always to focus on the site; that important developments are the fruits of mistakes made with a serious attitude; and to never forget that we don’t know what we don’t know.
Born-bred, balmy California; school in gritty Philly; six years biz experience: Prague-Amsterdam-NY. Came home to Hirsch Vineyards in 2008 to shine her light & spirit on sales, customer relations, plus learn the land, the vines, and the wines. Took over the winery as General Manager in 2015, and became our winemaker in 2019.
Born Czechoslovakia; escaped 1982 to Kansas City; liberated 1988 to Seattle. Architect; lighting designer; jewelry maker; painter; graphic designer; yoga teacher. Responsible for graphic design including packaging; assists in sales and marketing; grape harvest; fruit processing.
With a passion for regenerative and restorative agriculture, Joel's twenty plus years of organic farming experience has led him to the Hirsch team. Farming most of his career in the Midwest, two years ago he moved to NorCal to continue to plant the seeds of his life's journey. Deeply connected to the Earth, biological systems and all they have to teach us, Joel feels fortunate to collaborate with the like minded community upon this sacred land.
Born and brought up outside Chicago. Traded the suburbs for the farm in 2012, when she joined an organic vegetable farming internship in rural Wisconsin. There she fell in love with growing and cooking food from the land - and her future husband, Hirsch farm manager Joel Kellum! Transplanted to California in 2016 and rooted down at Hirsch Vineyards in 2018. Kelly looks forward to connecting you with our stunning wines.
Hawaii born & raised; now residing in sunny Southern California. Lover of food & wine, oceans & mountains, words & music. After over a decade working for distributors, wineries & importers, joined Hirsch in 2018 to travel the country and tell the story of place & people. When not eating & drinking, can be found surfing & snowboarding. Most likely to be assigned punchdowns during Harvest.
Chris joined the Hirsch team after nearly ten years at neighboring winery Copain Wines. Chris was raised in Sonoma County and has earned degrees at Santa Rosa Junior College and UCLA. He spent the first several years of his professional career managing live theatre in Los Angeles and New York. However, Chris eventually found his way back home, working with one of his true loves: wine! In addition to working with the amazing Hirsch team, Chris most enjoys getting to meet and connect with our Hirsch collectors.
Born and raised in northern California, Susan brings over 10 years of experience in the wine industry to the Hirsch team. From vine to bottle she believes that understanding the winemaking process is necessary to appreciate the industry’s unique accounting system. Each vintage has a story to tell, and Susan likes to enjoy a nice bottle of wine with friends and family over nicely paired food and lots of laughter. Susan spends her free time gardening and camping with her husband.
In 1988 Everardo and his brother grafted two acres of Hirsch Old Vineyard riesling over to the Mount Eden clone of Pinot Noir. He never left. Everardo married Marta, they had four children, and to this day lives on site. He planted/cultivated all 90,000 vines on the 72 acres of Hirsch Vineyards. He is one of eight Robledo brothers who have been important to the development of vineyards and wineries in Napa and Sonoma. Master of viticulture on the extreme Sonoma Coast.