Roberta Manell Montero

Her career path made a fortuitous left turn when she spent time in Germany with a winegrowing family, and saw how their jobs were intertwined with their lives. With her family's support, she decided to pursue a career in the wine business in California, and met her husband John early on. Her career includes winery sales positions with Navarro Vineyards (Anderson Valley, CA) and Duckhorn Vineyards (Napa Valley, CA), retail experience as wine manager for Oakville Grocery (Napa Valley, CA), and marketing experience as executive director for Pinot Noir America, an “on the road” version of IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration). Her ongoing and longest duration position is with Bouchard Cooperages, a supplier of premium French and American oak wine barrels from cooperages in Burgundy and Bordeaux. Continued contact and friendships with winemakers in both hemispheres has been the most satisfying part of this job for her, particularly with the winemaking communities of Oregon and New Zealand.