Episode 6.8 - Erin Mason, Viticulture at Paicines Ranch in California

This episode features Erin Mason, a former Atlanta resident who worked with Fifth Group Restaurants for 10 years where she started as a server, became a manager, and quickly moved into beverage programs. Less than two years after starting at South City Kitchen Midtown, she was offered the opportunity to open Ecco Buckhead with total autonomy over the beverage program. At the same time, she had completed her certification with the CMS, started traveling to supplement her wine education, and played an instrumental role in establishing the beverage program at South City Kitchen Avalon. On a trip to California's Central Coast in 2019, however, she was inspired to take a huge leap of faith - she left everything behind in Atlanta to work the 2019 California harvest with no plans to return. She later moved to Santa Barbara to open a bar with a friend from Atlanta. but not long into the pandemic, she started working for Angela Osborne at A Tribute to Grace and Magan Kunin at Kunin Wines. In 2021, she got connected with Ann Kraemer at Shake Ridge Ranch in the Sierra Foothills and joined her team for the harvest. She later worked in the Columbia River Gorge with Laura Brennan Bissel of Inconnu wines on her project up there, and Erin is now settling into a full season in the vineyard at Paicines Ranch in San Benito county. We talk about how wine studies have been kind of a wild ride, but how she is inspired by the current work at Paicines Ranch and is realizing that her trajectory into vineyard work isn't just through wine, but from a passion for farming that went unnurtured while she made her way through the restaurant world. You can connect with her on Instagram @mason_hearts_in_jars to learn more about her adventures and to source advice for ways to learn more about farming practices in the wine industry.

Recorded April 2022