(December 10, 2020; Calistoga, Calif.)— Rich and Leslie Frank, proprietors of Frank Family Vineyards, are pleased to announce the promotion of two long time employees. Antonio Zepeda, who joined the winery in 2013, has been promoted to Tasting Room Sales Manager and Victor Raya, who joined the winery in 2005, has been promoted to Tasting Room Manager. Together in their new roles, Zepeda and Raya will direct all on-premise sales activity at Frank Family Vineyards while continuing to lead guests through Frank Family’s various tasting experiences. The two join Director of Hospitality, Liam Gearity in managing Frank Family’s award-winning tasting room and providing the best possible experience for guests visiting the Napa Valley.
“Having family on our label does not just mean those with the last name ‘Frank,’” says Rich Frank. “But it also refers to multi-generational families who have worked at our winery over the years and have been instrumental in our success.”
Antonio Zepeda was born and raised in Napa Valley, and spent much of his time working in the vineyards with his father, who had been in the viticulture industry since 1978. “Growing up, I admired the hard work my father did, so at a young age, I began to work summers in the vineyards with him. My passion for viticulture and the wine industry would grow with each passing vintage,” says Zepeda.
Prior to Frank Family, Zepeda worked at Duckhorn Winery, where he began his career as a retail assistant in 2007, and ultimately became a wine educator. In fall of 2013, Zepeda began his job in retail sales at Frank Family, a place that, in his own words “has been a second home from the very start.”
For Victor Raya, Frank Family is home in every sense of the word. “When I was four years old, my family moved to Rutherford where the Franks had offered my parents a home to live in to be the caretakers of their Winston Hill property. This is the place where I grew up,” says Raya.
Raya began packing orders and washing glasses to help around the Frank Family tasting room in 2005 and worked his way up to Shipping Manager, before becoming Assistant Tasting Room Manager in 2017. In his new role as Tasting Room Manager, Raya oversees the entire guest experience, ensuring Frank Family’s tasting room delivers an authentic, hospitable experience to all visitors.
“It is a testament to the culture we have built at Frank Family Vineyards that we are able to nurture such long-term employees. We are incredibly lucky to have both Antonio and Victor managing our tasting room on a day-to-day basis,” says Leslie Frank.
About Frank Family Vineyards
Frank Family Vineyards was founded in 1992 by former Disney Studios president Rich Frank. First constructed as the Historic Larkmead Winery in 1884, the stone building on property is the third oldest in Napa and appears on the national Register of Historical Places. Today, Frank Family owns over 380 acres of vineyards in the Napa Valley, and in 2015 received Napa Green certifications for both the land and winery. Frank Family’s reputation for having the friendliest hospitality in Napa Valley has fans flocking to the tasting room on Larkmead Lane, which has been named “Best Napa Winery” by the Bay Area A-List for an unprecedented eight years in a row, making it one of the most popular tasting rooms in wine country. Its 2014 Patriarch was recently ranked #5 in California Cabernet by Vivino. Regular tastings of Frank Family’s limited-production reserve and sparkling wines are priced at $50 per person and are offered seven days a week between 10am and 5pm. Reservations are strongly recommended for visits from Monday through Thursday and are required for visits on Friday through Sunday. Frank Family’s Napa Valley Chardonnay ($38), Pinot Noir ($38), Zinfandel ($38) and Cabernet Sauvignon ($58) are distributed nationally.
For more information about Frank Family Vineyards, please visit www.frankfamilyvineyards.com
