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Expertise

Half a Century of Vineyard
Management Success

Whether it’s tending your vines on your land, or our vines exclusively contracted to you, Valley Farm Management brings you the benefits of our experienced, full-service vineyard management team. From root to bottle, our talented team, viticulturists and enologists have perfected the art and science of winegrape growing and winemaking. We’ll help you produce the best grapes for the best wines.

Managing Vineyards

We’re focused on the long-term health and productivity of the vines. As the season progresses, we closely monitor vineyard balance to produce the highest quality winegrapes. Beyond caring for the land and vines, we can help you with every aspect it takes to succeed in the vineyard business.

Selling Grapes

Decades of work with wineries has helped us understand the need for quality winegrapes to produce quality wine. Over the years, we’ve built relationships with wineries large to small, ensuring your excess grapes are sold to the right buyers.

For a full list of services offered, visit our Services page.

Vineyard Team

Meet Your Team

Jason Smith

Jason Smith

President / CEO
Jason Smith

Jason Smith

President / CEO

Growing up in the Monterey County wine region, Jason was driving a tractor long before he could (legally) drive a car. He was at his father’s side from a very young age, taking care of the vineyards and learning the hows and whys of sustainable agriculture. Jason combined his hands-on farm education with a degree from UC Davis to return to Valley Farm Management in 1992 and help it evolve and grow. Though today he focuses more on strategy, management and helping our client-partners prosper, he can still drive a tractor, prune a vine, or fix a trellis if needed.

Today, Jason’s known as a visionary businessman and a natural leader. His passion for sustainable vineyard farming has made him an industry trailblazer. His eye for opportunity, and his steely comfort in taking calculated risks, have contributed greatly to Valley Farm Management’s success—as well as the success of our clients.

Along with serving the community on multiple boards and committees, Jason somehow finds the time to coach high school track and field for Palma and Notre Dame High Schools in Salinas.

Jason’s hobbies include running, cycling, spending time with family and friends, and their dogs, and drinking the occasional cold Coors Light.

Scott Storm

Scott Storm

COO Viticulture
Scott Storm

Scott Storm

COO Viticulture

Following graduation from UC Davis with a degree in viticulture in 1986, Scott began his career in Sonoma with Duckhorn Vineyards before eventually coming home to Monterey County. Over the course of 20 years with J & L Farms and Lockwood Winery growing grapes in Southern Monterey County, Scott built a strong foundation in viticulture. While he has been managing our labor quality control in the vineyards since 2014, his vast viticulture and enology background continue to inform daily decisions for our company.

Justin Murphy

Justin Murphy

Director of Winery Relations / Winemaker
Justin Murphy

Justin Murphy

Director of Winery Relations / Winemaker

After receiving his associate degree from Cuesta College, Justin went straight into learning by doing. A career that started at Courtside Cellars in San Luis Obispo and onto boutique cellar work and winemaking for Sextant in Paso Robles eventually led home in 2009. For a decade, Justin made wine for our home estate winery Paraiso Vineyards, and now serves as our lead sales and relationship manager, combining his background in winemaking with his stellar communication skills. With Justin and our viticulture team with you every step of the way, we ensure you have a seamless experience while receiving the highest quality fruit for your wines.

Dustin Rubbo

Dustin Rubbo

Viticulturist
Dustin Rubbo

Dustin Rubbo

Viticulturist

Dustin decided he just couldn’t get enough of us after his high school internship! After graduating from Fresno State in 2005 with a degree in viticulture, Dustin returned to Valley Farm Management to scout fields, run our pesticide and fertilizer program, and manage other cultural needs throughout the year. He was instrumental in setting up our sugar sampling program, allowing us to provide all our customers with weekly block data for our vineyards as we approach harvest.

Administrative Team

Admin, HR & Wellness

Jodi

Dani

Annie

Julie

Rosa

Kacy

Practices

Smart, Trusted and Respected

We’re believers in continued education, and that’s why we learn about and adapt to the latest technology to offer innovative vineyard practices with ongoing improvements. Our team is just as high-performing, with quality and efficiency standards that support easy and transparent communication with our partners, and economically rewarding results.

Our high-level practices include aerial mapping and surveying, and use of additional resources to analyze crops and gain precise information to make grapegrowing decisions on the spot throughout each season.

It’s our passion to grow high-quality winegrapes and provide the best customer service in Monterey County. Working in different micro-climate AVAs for decades has been beneficial to our growth and experiences. Different varieties, regions and landscapes have helped us accommodate all of the variables, and repeat business and award-winning wines have continually affirmed our value as a partner in the industry.

We understand that quality grapegrowing goes hand in hand with superior winemaking. Growers and wineries need to work together to produce the best bottle of wine… We get it!

Production

Location, Location, Winegrapes

Monterey County is known for a long growing season and fertile soil. Warms days, and cool foggy nights and mornings, are influenced by mountain elevation and proximity to Monterey Bay. These unique characteristics encourage complex flavor development in the fruit. Throughout Monterey County the terroir—climate, topography and soil—creates some of the best conditions in the world for growing winegrapes. The longer growing season and slow, gentle ripening produce smaller berries with rich flavors.

Monterey County and the surrounding areas offer the potential for certain winegrapes to thrive. In the region, we’re considered leading specialists in top quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But the list of varietals we grow is much more extensive:

  • Pinot Noir
  • Chardonnay
  • Syrah
  • Riesling
  • Sauvignon Blanc
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Tannat
  • Petit Verdot
  • Souzao
  • Petit Sirah
  • Pinot Grigio