Napa's Toast to Latinos

It's hard to imagine what California wine would be without the dedication of Hispanic workers

James Laube

Posted: Friday, May 13, 2005

On Saturday, Napa Valley will pay a long-overdue tribute to the unsung heroes of the wine industry: the people who work the hardest and the most closely with the vines.

The Sabor de Napa ("flavor of Napa") event salutes Latino influences on winegrowing, cuisine and visual arts in Napa Valley. There may still be a few tickets available for the luncheon, tasting and dinner, which will be accompanied by music and an exhibit of the works of six Latino artists (for more information, visit www.vinoconvida.com/sabordenapa.htm).

There are now more than a dozen Hispanic-owned wineries in California; perhaps the most prominent is the lavish Rutherford estate of Quintessa, founded by Chilean natives Agustin and Valeria Huneeus. Others include Mi Sueno ("my dream"), which was founded by Rolando Herrera, and Ceja, owned by the Ceja family. At the Palmaz winery, one of the most ambitious, architecturally dramatic cellars ever built in California is a six-story gravity-flow facility built by Julio and Amalia Palmaz into a rugged hillside in east Napa. Keller Estate in Sonoma is yet another rising star with roots in Mexico.

Among enologists, Elias Fernandez of Shafer would make the short list of the state's finest winemakers. At some wineries, entire families—brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles—work together. At Markham in St. Helena, the de Haro family virtually runs the operation. Efren de Haro, who has worked at the winery for two decades, is featured in Markham's ads (he's the guy working in the cellar).

Then there are the chefs, most of whom work behind the scenes for their higher-profile owners. Three in particular are key to their restaurants' success: Marcos Uribe at Celadon in Napa, who works with Greg Cole; and Pablo Jacinto at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena and Erasto Jacinto at Mustard's Grill in Yountville, who both work with Cindy Pawlcyn.

As vital and energizing as Hispanics are to the wine industry, their contributions to California's overall economy are so pervasive and indispensable that I doubt we could exist without them. They are today's labor force, just as Europeans and Chinese were in centuries past. One of the great ironies is that as the wine industry pays homage to Hispanics, there is talk in the state capital of tightening the border and making it hard for Hispanics to cross.

Many Hispanics who work in the wine business are U.S. citizens and part of the American fabric. "For us—and I speak for many—[Hispanics] have been long-term employees and really a strong part of our company," says Craig Williams, winemaker at Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa. "They are involved in all aspects of the business—accounting, sales and marketing. They are our next generation of lawyers, doctors, scientists and teachers. It's a great American success story."

It's also a double-edged sword, since many other Hispanics entered California illegally and aren't citizens. Shutting down or even constricting the flow of immigrants across the border would be disastrous well beyond the wine industry.

Hispanics are the backbone of the wine industry, pure and simple, says Pete Seghesio, CEO of Seghesio Family Vineyards in Sonoma County. Year-round, most of the vineyard work is done by Hispanics—everything from pruning vines in the winter months, to thinning grapes and leaves during the growing season, to the actual harvest.

"We can't do what we do without them," Seghesio says. "California cannot make 90-point wines without the hand care of these individuals. We're not Australia, where many of the [farming operations] are done by machines. It's impossible to make the kind of quality wine we're making in California today without this labor force of hands."

Some Hispanics undergo a brutal, dangerous and expensive journey to enter the United States from Mexico. The cost of crossing the border runs between $1,000 and $2,500, Seghesio says.

And many vintners know they're hiring illegal aliens. "I suspect a lot of the other farming operations in California—and, frankly, a lot of other California businesses—are knowingly using illegal immigrants," Seghesio says. He says it creates a real ethical conflict. "You want to be able to be legal and do the right thing, and yet, the majority of the time, the Social Security numbers [these immigrants provide] don't work."

The bottom line, though, is this, says Seghesio: "If people really knew the percentage [of Hispanics working in California] that's driving our economy, there wouldn't be any of this talk from our government."

Let go of the politics this weekend and join in the toast to the people who make up the backbone of the wine industry. Without them, California wine wouldn't be where it is today.

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