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Peter Kirchner
Peter wears two hats at Devine. During the
fall, you will find him at the winery or at Family
of Vineyards harvest parties. The rest of the
time he fills the role of vine specialist, focusing
in particular on younger vines. Peter's sharp
eye and desire for perfection take our wines and
vines to a higher level.
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Derek Norman
Derek is our manager. The middle son of our office
manager, he has grown up around our vineyards.
Young and eager, he competently supervises all vineyard
operations and is our chemigation specialist.
Derek also has an extensive knowledge of tractors,
trucks, and engines, large and small
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Billy Palmer
Regardless of what job Billy undertakes, he always uses
his sharp mind and creative thoughts to accomplish the
work in the best possible fashion. His optimism and
cheerful demeanor are infectious. During the growing
season, Billy is in charge of a complex disease control
program. An avid diver, he finds time to teach classes
at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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Devin
Gneiting Devin is our resident outdoorsman,
taking groups of people on backpacking adventures
during the summer. Devin grew up in Los
Angeles and went to college at UCSC. |
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Patrick Bourque
Patrick is a local Santa Cruz Mountains boy with an
interest in playing guitar and shooting sporting
clays. We're fortunate that he hasn't yet
become famous enough with his band to quit his day
job. Someday we'll be able to say we knew him
when... |
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Kevin Godshall
Kevin moved to the West Coast from Pennsylvania.
An avid outdoor enthusiast, enjoying hiking and
camping, Kevin loves working in our Family of
Vineyards. In his spare time, he works on
motorcycles, and like our other resident musicians
Jake and Patrick, showcases his musical talents with
his guitar.
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Mitch
Smith Mitch grew up in the evergreens of the
northwest. He moved from Seattle to Santa Cruz to
enjoy the sun and surf the ocean. Happiest when
outdoors, Mitch spends his time gardening, exploring
the coastline, and of course working in our Family
of Vineyards. When home, he dabbles with culinary
ventures featuring spicy foods. |
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Frank
Unsinger Frank grew up in San Jose. He
enjoys "snowboarding, wakeboarding, BBQ's, and long
sunset-lit walks on the beach". He is
interested in the medical field and may one day be
found on an ambulance or in an ER caring for people.
But for now he will be carefully tending grapevines. |
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Office Crew |
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Tammy
Norman
Tammy is our Office Manager who is,
essentially, the pulse of DVC. She keeps us
operating without missing a beat despite a plethora of
responsibilities. Dispatching complex compliance
requirements, managing the web site before you, handling
personnel issues, letting the dogs in and out
[endlessly], all fall within the purview of Tammy’s
domain. She is the organization in our
Organization.
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Eternal Employees
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Mike McKeand
Mike
will forever be part of the DVC crew. When he was
here he gave his heart and soul to growing grapes right.
Nobody could drive a tractor like Mike. As his dad
says, “Mike loved to drive
anything on two wheels, even if it came with four.”
When he wasn’t at work, he experienced life with a
passion and zeal that few have ever been fortunate
enough to experience. Tragically, Mike was lost
performing one final heroic act, trying to save his
girlfriend from drowning. Although she survived,
Mike was not as fortunate. Every day, when we
assemble for work, Mike’s spirit is still there with
us—a little late on Mondays! |
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Nate Mlyniec
Nate worked with our
vineyard crew during his summer breaks from high school
for two consecutive years. Nate's quick wit and
unique points of view made him a joy to work with.
He was planning to attend UC Davis as a Food Science
major and, upon graduating, return as the head chef at
our future winery. A scholarship has been
set up in his name for food science majors to pursue the
dream that he was unable to. Information on
contributions can be found at
natescholarship@earthlink.net.
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