Michael Carr
Winemaker
If you were to ask our winemaker, Michael Carr, what his secrets are to making such fantastic wine here at Roche, one answer he would provide is “knowing the family’s lands, our unique growing conditions and changing weather patterns…all of these are fundamental.” Michael has gained that experience due to a long history with our winery and working with our vineyards. In fact, he served as our Assistant Winemaker for eight years from 1991 until 1998, before becoming our full-time Winemaker in the Fall of 2002. During his five-year stint away from Carneros, he gained valuable knowledge on how to establish winery operations from the “ground up” while with MacRostie Winery in Sonoma, California. He also perfected his winemaking and vineyard management skills while producing Gold Medal award-winning wines with San Juan Vineyards on San Juan Island in Washington.
No small task, Michael oversees all aspects of winemaking at Roche. From picking to bottling, his influence can be seen in every glass of Roche wine poured. His skills and knowledge allow us to continue to deliver the highest of quality wines.
Michael brings with him a positive, relaxed attitude. When not thrown into the chaos of harvest, he often can be found touring our vineyards or inspecting our production equipment with his trusted canine sidekick, Jacie. During baseball season, you’re always sure to hear the Giants games on full volume inside our barrel room, which is why we think Michael’s wines are always a grand slam for your dinner table.
Michael has won numerous awards and medals while at Roche Winery.
Michael has a Bachelor’s degree in enology from U.C. Davis and resides in nearby Marin County with his wife, Terra, and children, Jack and Daniella.
Andrew Jess
Assistant Winemaker
Andrew grew up in San Luis Obispo, where he later attended Cal Poly to study Biology. Having worked in numerous labs throughout his college career, he decided to take a laboratory internship with William Hill in Napa. This experience was the deciding factor to pursue this industry as a career.
Andrew was then hired on as the Assistant Lab Manager for DAOU vineyards in Paso Robles where he helped oversee all lab functions for the premium wine sector. Andrew decided that he wanted to learn more about cellar techniques so in the summer of 18, he accepted an internship at Kosta Browne Winery in Sebastopol. It was here were he learned how to craft some of the best Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays from some of California’s most renowned vineyard sites. When this harvest position was completed, Andrew traveled overseas to work as a cellar hand at Jordan Wine Estates in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Andrew quickly fell in love with South African Chenin Blanc and is still one of his favorite wines to drink today. In the Spring of 2019 Andrew traveled back to Sebastopol to start a job as the Viticulture Technician at Paul Hobbs Winery. It was here where Andrew took a break from the cellar to learn viticulture from the best farmers in California. Andrew spent over a year working for Paul Hobbs when he decided it was time for him to step back into the winery setting. This is when Andrew took the position as Assistant Winemaker for Roche Winery. Andrew is incredibly excited for this opportunity to work with such a great winemaker and looks forward learning as much as he can from Michael Carr.
When Andrew is not working, he enjoys trail running, riding his bike, camping, playing guitar or piano, and being with friends.
Ned Hill
Vineyard Manager
Having been immersed in Sonoma Valley grape growing since his father planted his fist vineyard in 1979, Ned brings to Roche Winery a lifetime knowledge of Carneros and its world-famous Sonoma Valley terroir. Ned and his wife Erika’s vineyard management company, La Prenda Vineyard Management, oversees the farming of 900 acres of vineyards in Sonoma Valley and Carneros, including Roche Winery’s 50-acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Ned was instrumental in the planting of these vineyards and he works closely with Roche winemaker Michael Carr and Brendan Roche to ensure the quality of this vineyard’s fruit to achieve the same year-after-year consistency of Roche Wines. This comes easy for Ned, as Brendan Roche and Ned grew up together in Sonoma Valley, and Michael has worked with Ned for many years in sourcing fruit beyond the Roche estate. While this team works extremely hard each year to maintain the quality of Roche wines, it is Ned’s great sense of humor out in the vineyards that makes this more “fun” than work for Brendan and Michael.