Rotta Winery names new director of operations
Rotta Winery appoints acclaimed winemaker Jeff Branco as director of operations
PASO ROBLES – Rotta Winery, the oldest operating family-owned winery in the Paso Robles AVA, announces the appointment of Jeff Branco as Winemaker-Director of Operations.
Branco joins Rotta as the third American to receive a Masters of Viticulture & Enology from the University of Bordeaux. In his career, he has served as Assistant to Winemaker at Pape Clement, Pessac-Leognan and Cellar & Vineyard Worker at Maison Sichel, Bordeaux. Branco was trained by esteemed consulting winemakers (Michel Rolland, Pascal Ribereau–Gayon and Denis Dubourdieu) and served as Winemaker for JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery, where he received a Wine Spectator Top 10 and two Top 100 awards in five years. He is the first winemaker to receive a 95pt. rating (WS) for a Paso Robles wine (2000).
“Branco brings a wealth of knowledge to Rotta from various positions in winemaking and operations. He has a great history here and abroad and is poised to help Rotta carry its 105-year history in to the next 100 years. We are looking to Jeff’s experience in Bordeaux varietals to help reveal the emerging, high quality of Paso Robles’ Cabernet Sauvignon. Jeff is a great fit,” says Jason Shorrock, General Partner of Rotta.
“I look forward to a role that is responsible for winemaking as well as operations, viticulture and community support & education within the Paso Robles AVA. With Rotta new team, its great West side location and estate vineyards, we are assured a strong base from which to grow. I am happy to have returned to Paso Robles to live and work. It’s a good place to be,” explains Jeff Branco.
Branco has “hit the ground running” as he blends existing wines in the Rotta portfolio while beginning viticulture practices and harvest for 2013. As a former consultant to many wine companies, Jeff knows how to come in and ensure quality for the future.
About Rotta Winery
Rotta Winery is the oldest continually operating, family-owned winery in the Paso Robles AVA, producing Zinfandel, Bordeaux varietals and its “famous” Black Monukka dessert wine. Originally built in 1856 by Frenchman Adolph Siot, it was sold 105 years ago in 1908 to the Rotta family after, then 52 years of successful operation in Templeton, CA. Family descendants still remain in ownership.
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