Oakville Ranch Vineyards has announced that Anne Vawter has been hired as winemaker. After completing the B.S. in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, Vawter earned her chops in a series of wineries from Washington State to Chile. As assistant winemaker at Paradigm Winery in Oakville, she honed her skill working alongside consulting winemaker Heidi Barrett. Blending is Vawter’s favorite part of the winemaking process, as it gives her a chance to put her mark on the brand. “Not taking the vineyard expression and changing it to something totally different,” she says, “just focusing it in a way that appeals, that approaches my ideal.” You can hear the reverence (and the excitement!) in her voice when she talks about working with our yield here at the ranch. Vawter follows Ashley Heisey, who left to devote more attention to her own wine brand and consulting projects.