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Did You Know?

American wine drinkers consume more wine on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year

The pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine is about 90psi, about three times that in a car tire.

Most white wines should be served at 53˚F-62˚F

Over 10,000 varieties of wine grapes are grown around the world.

A tannin is a naturally occurring substance in grape skins, seeds and oak barrels…Tannins create the “drying out” feeling in your mouth. The greater you experience this the higher the tannins are in your wine.

Port should be served at 62˚F-65˚F

Most red wines should be served at 62˚F-65˚F

The Mesopotamians are credited as being the first to produce wine in 6000 B.C.

In the middle ages wine was used as currency.

Rosé wines are made from red grapes and get their “pinkish” color from the short time the juice is in contact with the red grape skins.

Grapes are the most planted fruit on the planet.

During prohibition, a product called the Grape Brick was sold to thousands of households in America. Attached to the brick of dried and pressed winegrape concentrate was a packet of yeast and a warning, “Do not add yeast or fermentation will result.”

Personnel Bios

Olivia DeCamp is the Executive Director of New Mexico Wine Growers Association and oversees the day-to-day management of the organization and spearheads projects designed to continue the success of the NMWGA. Olivia has her Bachelorís Degree in Business Marketing and her MBA in Global Management. In her career, she has served in the U.S. Army, has over 10 years experience in the marketing field with a very strong background in operations and finance. Olivia is an expert at new markets and expansion and has a successful track record of leading start-up organizations to large gains in market share and revenue.

The Executive Director serves at the discretion of the elected Board of Directors. The board is made up of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and 3 members at large.

The President of the association, Steve Jaszai, is currently Corporate Manager for Eagle Ranch/Heart of the Desert. He oversees the operations of 2 facilities in different geographical locations with responsibilities of the overall management regarding growing, processing, packaging, shipping and marketing of wholesale and retail Gourmet Pistachios, Wine, Candies and General Merchandise. Steve has 11 years corporate experience in a leadership role including Planning and Project Management. Prior to his corporate roles, Steve was a Major in the United States Air Force as a Senior Program Manager responsible for vision, strategy, development, planning, budget and implementation of over 25 exercises and war games conducted worldwide, many occurring simultaneously.

The Vice President, Paolo DíAndrea,owner of Luna Rossa Winery, comes from a heritage of four generations of wine growers. Paolo graduated from a College of Viticulture in Spilimbergo, Italy, with an expertise in grafting plants. This unique skill moved him to the U.S. with a company operating a 300 acre vineyard, the largest in New Mexico. Still managing the state's largest vineyard, Paolo also opened his own vineyard and winery and manages all three simultaneously. This combination has given Paolo 23 highly successful years experience leading very crucial enterprises in our industry.

The Secretary of NMWGA is Gordon Steel, owener of Rio Grande Winery. Gordon has his Bachelors of Science with some Masters courses, as well as Enology/Viticulture training from UC Davis. Gordon has 34 years experience as both enlisted and officer with the United States Air Force. During his military experience Gordon worked Quality Management, Human Resources, Program Development. He was directly responsible for over 100 employees with indirect leadership for 1,500. He was also responsible for a $16 Million budget, and was commended by Colin Powel for direct savings of over $2 Million.

 

 

 Lori Paulson, Treasurer for the NMWGA, has both her Bachelors and Masters of Business Administration with over 8 years experience in compliance, operations, and finance.

Relatively new to the wine industry,  Lori joins NMWGA as Treasurer, from Southwest Wines, the state's largest winery. She attended NMSU where she received her BS in marketing and MBA. During graduate school she met her lifelong partner Brandon Young who is the controller for Southwest Wines, they have a 3 year old son together Jeremiah.

Lori's motto, "Have wine... Will travel". Her efforts have been focused on building relationships with region's wineries and hopes to bring greater national recognition to the areas wonderful wine. Lori believes that, "Its a new day for NMWGA" and is excited for the organizations endless possibilities.

The three members at large are Dave Arnold, Jesse Padberg and John Calvin.

 

Jesse Padberg has 11 years experience in the New Mexico wine industry, with 6 years as an owner of his own winery. Vivac winery has been in business for 6 years, each with continued growth, and the last 4 years over 100% growth in distribution each year. Jesse is currently enrolled in the UC Davis Winemaker Certification Program and is a 2nd level Executive Sommelier, pursuing his Master Sommelier Certification.

John Calvin is the founder, owner and winemaker of Casa Rondena Winery. With 17 years success operating a commercial vineyard/winery John Calvin has won several awards. Along with owning the winery, John also is a well known designer and builder of custom homes with his company John Calvin Builder. Having founded and run two highly successful businesses John brings a high level of expertise to the leadership of NMWGA.

Dave Arnold is the founder of Wines of the San Juan. A winery located in very rural Blanco, New Mexico. Through Daveís perseverance and knowledge, Wines of the San Juan is a highly successful winery with a surprisingly high customer base considering both location and newness of the endeavor.