June 15th – Please join us in welcoming Sam Mills, our new Research Viticulturist. Sam has been working at Silverado Farming Company for the past year on the Viticulture team, previously as the Soil Health Specialist. Before working with the Silverado team, Sam has worked in the wine industry for the past 12 years.
She started her wine journey by studying at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the College of Agriculture and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Geosciences with a concentration in Wine and Viticulture. For her Senior project, Sam researched how climate change would affect various growing regions and developed solutions on how to mitigate those changes.
While attending Cal Poly she worked in the Paso Robles wine region in hospitality, vineyards and production. After the 2014 harvest, Sam traveled to the Southern Hemisphere for two harvests in New Zealand; one in Marlborough at Constellation Brands and the other on Waiheke Island at Man O’ War Vineyards. In between those harvests, Sam worked in the Napa Valley at Rudd Winery and in 2016 decided to move to Napa permanently. She has worked in wine production since then. Last year Sam followed her passion and joined the Silverado Farming Team to further her viticulture knowledge and work in the vineyards. Sam recently received her Pest Control Advisor License and is looking forward to experimenting with different products and farming practices to enhance soil health.
In her free time, Sam enjoys cycling, running, and hiking with her dog, Milo. She also has her own wine label, Tectonic Wines which she created with her husband Tim.
