Sebastopol, California, May 10, 2022 – Dutton-Goldfield Winery is excited to announce that winemaker veteran Melissa Stackhouse has joined the winery as Winemaker. Under the direction of owner/winemaker Dan Goldfield, Melissa will be extensively involved in all aspects of Dutton-Goldfield’s winemaking, as well as overseeing the management of our custom crush clients.
Melissa comes to Dutton-Goldfield with a winemaking history that parallels Dan Goldfield’s in several ways: she received her winemaking degree at University of California at Davis, apprenticed at Robert Mondavi Winery, and was winemaker at La Crema.
A native of Michigan, Melissa Stackhouse discovered winemaking when living in Bellingham, WA in 1994. While wine tasting one day on Lopez Island, she discovered that a person could go to school to learn how to make wine. It was an ah hah moment that led her to the Napa Valley and a degree in Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis. Melissa apprenticed at Robert Mondavi Winery, Sterling Vineyards, Joseph Phelps Winery, and Peter Michael Winery. She went on to hold winemaking positions at some of the most esteemed wineries in California including La Crema, J Vineyards & Winery, Meiomi, and SIMI.
Says Dan Goldfield, “Melissa is a hugely experienced and esteemed colleague within our wonderful circle of associates in the Russian River. More importantly, Melissa’s combination of intelligence, curiosity, pride (not ego), drive, integrity, humility, strength, patience, caring, kindness, and love of craft make her a rare person, and a wonderful fit with our values and pleasures here at Dutton-Goldfield. Melissa will manage our production facility where we make our wines and provide custom crush services to select clients, as well as be a full partner and leader in crafting our wines and representing us in the world. It’s a huge pleasure to have her here.”
“I’ve had a great working relationship with Melissa for 20 years, so was very excited to have her come on board with Dutton-Goldfield,” adds Steve Dutton. “I’m looking forward to her continuing in Dan’s footsteps crafting stellar wines from our neighborhood.”
“I’ve followed Dan’s career for years, and always loved his wines and his approach to winemaking, and I’ve also had the great fortune to work with Dutton Ranch fruit and Steve. Both of the partners have given me a very warm welcome, and I’m looking forward to being part of the winemaking legacy here, as well as explore the amazing array of vineyards we source fruit from.”
About Dutton-Goldfield
Dutton-Goldfield Winery is an independent, locally owned winery based in the California’s famed Russian River Valley. The winery was founded in 1998 when grape grower Steve Dutton and winemaker Dan Goldfield joined forces to produce terroir-driven wines using fruit selected from the Dutton family’s 80 Russian River vineyards as well as other cold coastal sites in Northern California. While the winery specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Dan and Steve also produce small quantities of Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Syrah and Zinfandel. Every Dutton-Goldfield wine is balanced, structured, complex, food worthy and sustainable.
