Our Winemaker

Michael Sones

I am happy to introduce myself as the winemaker at BARGETTO WINERY. Before taking over for Paul Wofford, I worked as a cellarmaster at David Bruce Winery for over three years. Prior to David Bruce I was employed for a number of years by that Mad Cap Jester of Vinedom, Randall Graham at Bonny Doon Vineyards. As you can see, I have spent my entire wine career in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
     

However, I have not always been in the wine industry. I am from Worthing, a town on the southern coast of England. I started off my photography career working for small commercial studios in London, processing films and photographing boxes of Saran Wrap! After a couple of years of city life, I decided to make a move. I took a job as photographer on a Finnish car ferry sailing around the Canary Islands. In the winter, the Baltic Sea gets very miserable so Finn Lines thought it would be a good idea to send one of their ships to the sun. This was the start of my life as a cruise ship photographer. My first true cruise ship was the Fairsea that sailed from San Francisco to Alaska. During my time on the Fairsea, I had the opportunity to visit Monterey and Salinas. As a boy, I had read many of Steinbeck’s novels. So, I was excited to make a literary pilgrimage to Monterey during the ship’s lay up in Alameda. Who would have thought that fifteen years later, I would be living here.

In 1990, after fifteen cruise ships, I decided to give up the roaming life and change careers. During my time on board ships and after visiting countries such as Italy, Greece, Spain and South Africa, I had developed an interest in wine. Food and wine is a large part of the cruise ship experience. On one particular cruise ship, the QE2, the darkroom was next to the Food and Beverage Manager's office. He was a good friend and we shared many fine bottles of wine while working late in the darkroom.

When my future wife, Lois, whom I met on an Italian Cruise ship, the Carla Costa, settled here in California, I decided to study enology at the University of California at Davis. After graduating I returned to Santa Cruz to settle down with Lois. I now enjoy living in Santa Cruz with my wife and five year old daughter, Michaela. I am excited to continue my wine career at BARGETTO WINERY. Toddle-pip!