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| Juan Jose Verdina, Winemaker The Salinas Valley is on the other side of the world from Chile, but that didn’t stop Juan Jose from trekking from one hemisphere to another to gain some hands-on winemaking skills. Juan Jose earned his degree in Agricultural Engineering from INACAP Tabancura in Santiago. His desire for more practical experience in the field brought him to Hahn Estates in September of 2002. Since then, his job duties have included everything from harvesting and bottling to analysis and quality control of current vintages. Juan Jose considers the mixture of talents with the winemaking team at Hahn to be ideal. His goal is to gain as much knowledge and experience possible at Hahn which led to his promotion in March 2008. He is currently head winemaker for Copa del Rey, where he is carrying on Copa del Rey’s mission to craft the highest quality wines from Chile. During his time off, he enjoys playing soccer, mountain biking, and extreme sports. |
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| William Leigon, President As president of Hahn Family Wines and Hahn Estates, Bill Leigon brings decades of wine industry experience that have grown Hahn's wine programs. His unique experience in Monterey, and strength in wine marketing, has led Hahn Family Wines to increased international recognition. Leigon successfully introduced Cycles Gladiator, an everyday wine which followed the groundbreaking success of the HRM Rex Goliath wine brand which was formerly owned by Hahn. A wine industry innovator and visionary, Leigon has pioneered the use of new media and social media to build and market wine brands for the past five years. Since graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Texas, Leigon has been active in the wine industry. He co-founded The Wine Trust and Ariel Vineyards (a leader in non-alcoholic wine) and also worked as vice president of sales and marketing for Associated Vintage Group. In 2000 Leigon founded Wimbledon Wine Company, a national sales and marketing company that represented Hahn Estates, Smith & Hook and Cycles Gladiator and ultimately became Hahn Family Wines. Bill Leigon is a community activist, vocalist and artist. He was a founding director of the Napa Valley Repertory Theatre and has served as president of the Arts Council of Napa Valley. When not traveling worldwide on business, he divides his time between Monterey and his home in the Napa Valley. |
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| Paul Clifton, Winemaker Paul Clifton joined the Hahn Estates team in 2003, after finishing a postgraduate degree of Viticulture/Enology in New Zealand. He became involved in winemaking as a hobby and in 1996, decided to make a career change from firefighting to winemaking. Paul built a solid foundation in the industry, starting out in the cellars of Bernardus Winery in Carmel Valley, then moving on to Byington Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains as assistant winemaker. A native of the Monterey Bay, his passions lie in the beauty of the area, its potential for excellence in winegrowing, and the people he works with. |
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| Barry Gnekow, Consulting Enologist Barry Gnekow, senior winemaking consultant, another UC Davis graduate, has over 30 years experience in the wine industry, most notably with J. Lohr where he created the J. Lohr Estate wines and co-founded Ariel brand non-alcoholic wines. It was with J. Lohr and then Ariel where Barry first collaborated with Hahn President Bill Leigon. Most recently Bill and Barry have worked successfully together on all of the Hahn Estates’ wine brands. With the numerous accolades and medals garnered by his wines through the years, Barry is considered to be one of California’s most decorated winemakers. |
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