Greg Fitzgerald

Winemaker, Pope Valley Winery

Growing up in Oregon state wine country during the region's rise, Greg Fitzgerald always had a periphery awareness of the new world wine industry. This connection came to the forefront while working at the West Coast's top restaurants as a serve and sommelier. In this role, he took many trips to California wine country, learning about the art of wine production and experiencing the culture and lifestyle. This way of life called to him and he set his course for the arduous journey of acquiring a formal University of California at Davis degree in winemaking.

During Greg's academic training, he worked at several prestigious wineries to gain hands-on experience: Saintsbury, Nickel and Nickel, among others. Upon graduation Greg set out to learn from the best, working at Napa Valley cult wineries such as Colgin and Fleury; developing his craft and perfecting his winemaking skills. After working as Harvest Assistant winemaker at Palliser Estate, in New Zealand's famed Martinborough region, he returned to the United States to work as Assistant Winemaker and later Winemaker under the tutelage of Camille Benitah, one of Napa Valley's industry veterans.

We are excited to welcome Greg to the Pope Valley Winery Family. In his position of Winemaker Greg is working with legendary winemaker Jean Hoefliger in crafting world-class wines from our Estate Vineyards in Pope Valley.

Country born: United States

Education: BS UC Davis, Viticulture and Enology

Years in the wine industry: 10-15 years

Winemaking Philosophy:
My winemaking philosophy is centered around reading the vines and grapes to understand the best expression of their nature and lead them there.

Jean Hoefliger

Winemaker, Pope Valley Winery

Jean Hoefliger is an artisan inherently driven to push the envelope, continually challenging the cognizance of, not only winemaking, but life in general. With an insatiable appetite for art, philosophy, and a good discussion, Jean thrives when his creativity and passion are left unbound by conventional thinking. Whether in the vineyard, at the winery, home, or around the table with friends - old and new - Jean brings these pursuits alive with playful banter and endearing jokes. In his winemaking, the essence of these experiences is brought to life through a particular craft of winemaking: fundamentally balanced by his experiences in Bordeaux, now left unbridled on the frontier of Napa Valley, making a delectable intersection between the past and future of wine. Jean Hoefliger was born and raised in Switzerland. His initial experience took him from Switzerland to California where he worked at Michel Schlumberger and Hartford Family in Sonoma followed by Bordeaux and South Africa, making wine at the esteemed estates of Chateau Carbonnieux, and Meerlust. Completing a winemaking and viticulture degree at the Swiss federal school of Changins, Jean made his way back to Bordeaux making wine at Chateau Lynch-Bages, and then moving back to California where he spent five years as winemaker for Newton Vineyard from 2001to 2005.

In 2005 Jean started Alpha Omega Winery as the Winemaker and General Manager while concurrently building his consulting business with many projects around the world. At Alpha Omega he was running the business along with the production, specializing in Direct to Consumer strategy and National Sales. After 10 years, the business reached a size that required more time than he had, and he moved away from the business management to focus solely on winemaking. Two years later in 2019, Jean decided to shift his career to become a full time Consulting Winemaker, therefore, shifting his role within the Alpha Omega organization. Jean has built his client wineries over the years to include: Monteverro in Tuscany, Pact(e) in Burgundy, Perinet in Priorat, Tolosa Winery in Edna Valley, Grapeheart in Suisun Valley, V. Vineyards in Sonoma County, and Alpha Omega, The Debate, Clark-Claudon, Decades 5, Theorize, Sunshine Valley, MR Michel Rolland, AXR and Hill Family Estate all from Napa Valley. Jean’s consulting business includes everything he loves from managing farming, to crafting world class wines, to advising on business strategies and even building and implementing the sales structure for clients. Jean’s passion, knowledge, scientific training and innate ability put him in a unique position to take the best grapes around the world and transform them into wines and brands worthy of world class standing.

Country born: Switzerland

Years in the wine industry: 15-20 years