Growers Clay and Celeste Gantz work hand-in-hand with vineyard manager Jim Pratt and viticulturist Kris Lowe to produce the highest quality Russian River Valley fruit.

The small size of Gantz Family Vineyards, just four planted acres, allows Clay Gantz to farm in a precise and labor-intensive manner. The hands-on work of trunk training, pruning, shoot positioning, leafing, irrigating and monitoring for pests have allowed Clay to get to know each and every vine; he works collaboratively with the rest of the vineyard team to make sure each plant gets what it needs. Clay and his wife Celeste bought the property in 2009, established the vineyard in 2010 and sold their first six harvests to Kosta Browne Winery. They now sell their grapes to DK Wine Group and its principal, Dan Kosta, a founder of Kosta Browne. Clay is an award-winning amateur winemaker who completed the certificate program in winemaking offered by the world-renowned Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, Extension for individuals employed in the wine industry. He is former president of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers and played a central role in creating the Russian River Valley Neighborhoods Initiative.

Celeste Gantz works alongside Clay to handle the shoot positioning, weeding and irrigation management in the vineyard and has taken over gopher control entirely. The two work together to produce and bottle the wine they make for friends and family. Celeste uses her 20-plus years overseeing legal departments to manage the administrative duties of Gantz Family Vineyards. Celeste is an involved member of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers and the Russian River Valley Girls, an organization that connects women engaged in the local wine industry. She volunteers with the Redwood Empire Food Bank and enjoys singing in local choral groups.  

Vineyard manager Jim Pratt has over 30 years of experience overseeing vines in the Russian River Valley with a career that begin in 1980 working with Rich Kunde at Sonoma Grapevine, once one of the country’s largest grapevine nurseries. Now, Jim, his wife Kristi, and their company Cornerstone Certified Vineyard specialize in managing small vineyards that require precision farming necessary for great Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and are known for delivering world-class wine grapes. Jim emphasizes having a collaborative relationship with his vineyard owners, and he works closely with the rest of the GFV team to make decisions about the care and maintenance of our vineyard. His crew performs the highly skilled and arduous vineyard work such as annual spring pruning, canopy management, and late-summer fruit harvesting.

Viticulturist Kristin Lowe has been a vital part of Gantz Family Vineyards' success. Kris was one of Clay's teachers in his certification program and one of the first people he turned to after purchasing the property in 2009. As the owner of Vine Balance Consulting, Kris watches over Gantz Family Vineyards' vines to ensure that they are protected from pest and disease and that they receive adequate nutrition, water and appropriate canopy management. She specializes in ampelography, which is the study of the classification of grape varieties, and has an extensive knowledge of rootstock/scion characteristics, grape genetics, and grapevine physiology and phenology. Originally from Syracuse, New York, Kristin received a B.S. in plant sciences with a specialization in plant breeding from Cornell University in 2000 before coming to California for graduate work. Kristin completed her Ph.D. in genetics from UC Davis in 2006.

Angelina M. Lopez helps Gantz Family Vineyards tell our story. An experienced journalist and freelance writer, Angelina’s first novel was published in 2019. Angelina’s books have now appeared on best-of-year lists in The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and AudioFile Magazine. Angelina lives in Houston, Texas with her family. She is Clay and Celeste's daughter and -- more importantly -- the mother of their grandchildren.

Jake is an invaluable member of the Gantz Family Vineyards team, taking very seriously his duties of pointing out active gopher holes, stomping lizards out of the ivy, chasing wild turkeys, and loudly warning us of circling hawks or innocent joggers who dare to pass near our property. We were lucky to adopt Jake from the Healdsburg Animal Shelter in 2012; he'd been on the euthanasia list of another shelter before Healdsburg rescued him (please adopt). He caught our attention immediately with his tendency to lean his entire body weight against people and stare at them with unblinking devotion. Jake had an active Facebook presence until we got tired of him hogging all the attention.