Family-owned, Pinot Noir specialist expands staff with 3 New Hires, 1 Promotion
Santa Rosa, California (July 14, 2020) – Balletto Vineyards, one of the few family-owned estate wineries in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley AVA, is pleased to announce staff expansion with the hiring of three new positions and one promotion, effective immediately. All roles are integral to the winery’s success in Sonoma County, where the Balletto family has lived and farmed for decades.
Ernesto Mendoza joins the Balletto Vineyards cellar team as Cellar Master. Having worked 15 years thus far between Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley, Ernesto’s prior experience includes roles at Sebastiani Winery and Prisoner Wine Company as Cellar Supervisor.
Ali Davignon returns to Balletto Vineyards now as full-time enologist. Having worked her first harvest in 2018 at the winery, Ali expanded her cellar and lab knowledge in January 2019 working in the southern hemisphere’s Kilikanoon Wines in Clare Valley, South Australia. By June 2019, she returned to Balletto to intern for her second year. No stranger to travel, she kicked off 2020 in South Africa with an experience as vineyard intern at the Vilafonté winery in Stellenbosch.
Logan Delhotal joins the Balletto Vineyards wine club team as Wine Club Assistant. A recent graduate of Sonoma State University, Logan majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Her role today was first initiated in November 2019, having worked in the winery’s tasting room. Originally from Sacramento, Logan is thrilled to work with Balletto’s wine club members on a more personal level, intent to make all their wine dreams come true.
Vanessa Vallejo has been promoted to Assistant Tasting Room Manager. A first-generation graduate of Sonoma State University in 2015, Vanessa has been working nearly seven years now at Balletto Vineyards. She is excited to continue bringing enthusiasm and her bi-lingual charm to the team.
“Today represents an important chapter for our company, amid these difficult times. We welcome Ernesto, Ali and Logan to the team, and along with Vanessa’s promotion, I look forward to their contribution in helping Balletto Vineyards maintain its promise of building life-long relationships with each and every one of our customers,” remarked John Balletto, owner and founder of Balletto Vineyards.
About Balletto Vineyards
Balletto Vineyards is an estate winery in the famed Russian River Valley appellation of Sonoma County, California. Owned and operated by the Balletto family, Balletto Vineyards delivers honest and approachable estate wines meant to be enjoyed with family and friends. Owner John Balletto and his wife, Terri, started in the vegetable farming business, growing into the largest vegetable farm in Northern California. Seeing a bright future for wine grape growing in Russian River Valley, John and Terri transitioned to grape growing in 1995. In 2001, they created the first vintage of Balletto Vineyards estate wine from Russian River Valley. For more information, visit BallettoVineyards.com.
