Bob Pestoni, proprietor, Rutherford Grove Winery, has named Alejandro Alfaro as the winery’s winemaker. “Our winery upholds the high standards and practices of my great-great-grandfather’s winemaking traditions without compromise. Alejandro is dedicated to this approach, insuring that our wines achieve the purest expression of place. He joins us to produce distinctive wines that not only express the distinct personalities of each of our estate vineyards, but also preserve our family history,” he said, in making the announcement.

Over the past 19 years, Alfaro has worked in every facet of the wine business, including vineyard management, winemaking and retail sales. Before coming to Rutherford Grove Winery, he honed his skills in winemaking at The Hess Collection, Quixote, Tierra Roja, Metamorphosis, DeSante Wines, Sabina Vineyards and Oakville Terrace.

Alfaro will oversee the winery’s portfolio of entirely estate-vineyard wines, which consists of 2006 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Three Tears Vineyard (Howell Mountain, $65); 2007 Reserve Merlot, Three Tears Vineyard (Howell Mountain, $50); 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Rutherford, $45); 2007 Estate Merlot (Rutherford, $32); 2009 Estate Sangiovese (Rutherford, $35); 2007 Petite Sirah, Spring Creek Vineyard (St. Helena, $37); 2009 Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Pestoni Ranch (Rutherford, $18) and 2009 Quackenbush Mountain Zinfandel (Lake County, $28). The winery’s production is less than 4,000 cases a year.

"My job is to assure that each vintage reflects the view of the vineyard and then hand-craft the wines into an expression of their own,” Alfaro explains.