PROFILE: JOHN WHITE
WINEMAKER - FETZER BARREL SELECT WINES

John White began his journey into winemaking in 1979. While attending college, his experience as a cellar and vineyard worker at a small winery in Virginia sparked a lifelong enthusiasm for and dedication to enology. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Hampden-Sydney College of Virginia, he moved to California in 1984. There, he continued his studies in Fermentation Science at the University of California at Davis, earning a second Bachelor of Science degree in 1986.

White promptly went to work as a winemaker at Christian Brothers Winery in St. Helena, California, and continued there when the Heublein Fine Wine Group took ownership in 1989. Heublein at that time owned Beaulieu Vineyards, Inglenook Vineyards, Quail Ridge, Gustave Niebaum, and Rutherford Estate Cellars.

In 1992, White was hired by Fetzer Vineyards as a winemaker to assist in the white wine barrel program and computer wine inventory management. During the 1995 and 1996 harvests he was responsible for all white wine production for the Fetzer, Bonterra, and Bel Arbor brands. In his present position as Winemaker for the Fetzer Barrel Select brand, White is involved in every aspect of the winemaking process, including grape sourcing, production, and barrel aging.

All Fetzer Barrel Select wines are made from premium grapes grown principally on the North Coast and Mendocino County. These wines are predominantly aged in oak barrels made at Mendocino Cooperage, which is located next to the Fetzer winery. Mendocino Cooperage is the only on-site winery cooperage in the United States and is one of a few in the world.

White is a member of American Society of Enology and Viticulture, and also serves on the organization's Technical Review Board. He is active in the California Enological Research Association, the Wine Institute Technical Committee Board, and the Enological Technical Committee of the American Vineyard Foundation. White is an avid mountain biking enthusiast and enjoys tending the small organic garden in his backyard. He resides in Healdsburg, California.