Do you ever dream of being a part of the wine industry? Have you ever wondered if the person pouring wine for you ever did anything else? Might it be possible that the winery owner or winemaker had a totally different career before they began working at a winery?
Some folks are born into a wine family, some find their calling to the wine industry early in life, while others end up in the wine industry after trying other career paths. My Life Before the Wine Industry — parts one, two and three — explored the backgrounds of several people who had careers before they discovered their passion for wine. The next two people you’ll read about both came upon their wine industry careers more by chance than by design, and both love what they do.
Jim Rickards: Dual Careers
Located in northern Alexander Valley, J. Rickards Vineyards & Winery was built from the ground up by Jim Rickards, the owner, winegrower and so much more. Jim’s path to a wine industry career was definitely circuitous, with each life-altering decision edging him closer and closer.
Born in San Francisco, this city kid always wanted out of the urban world. A summer job in Golden Gate Park gave him a taste of working the land, a first step toward his eventual destination as a winegrower. After graduating from high school, Jim worked a couple unique jobs — animal keeper at City College of San Francisco and helping with autopsies at Franklin Hospital. Both jobs influenced his future career choices, but neither were long lived. The Vietnam War was raging, and Jim knew if he wanted to have any control over his destiny, he needed to enlist rather than be drafted.
Military Service Shapes One Career
Controlling his own destiny, Jim joined the Navy. Because he had medical experience (yes, helping with autopsies was considered medical experience) the Navy recruiter offered him a place in the Navy Hospital Corp. The recruiter failed to mention that the Navy supported the Marines, but Jim embraced this concept. After Jim finished his Hospital Corp training, he volunteered to go with the Marines to Southeast Asia.
By the time Jim left the Military in 1969, jobs stateside were hard to come, so he fell back on his nursing training and experience. He got a job as a licensed vocational nurse (LVN) at Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, working in the emergency room and intensive care unit.
Second Career Launches
Still drawn to an agrarian life, Jim got into the cattle raising business in between working his shifts at the hospital. This dual career path continued over five decades, with some changes along the way.
In 1976, Jim purchased land off Chianti Road with an old neglected vineyard on the property. Although it was perfect for the cows, it was a tad rustic as a home for Jim and his children. That didn’t slow Jim down. With no house on the property, Jim and his kids lived in a tent until he was able to finish the house two years later. Tough to find time to build a house when you’re farming cattle, working as a nurse and raising kids, but Jim managed.
The Second Career Morphs
1978 was a pivotal year in Jim’s life. He and his family moved out of the tent and into a house, he finished his nursing degree and was now an RN. While taking his college nursing courses, he found he had open time in his school schedule so he’d fill it in with viticulture (the study of grape growing) classes. He figured since he had grapes on his property, he should learn more about how to best care for them.
Jim’s secondary focus on viticulture was very fortuitous and timely. After two years of drought, there was no grass for the cows, so in 1978, Jim sold the herd and turned his focus to his vineyard.
He planted more grapes, grafting various varietal cuttings he got from neighbors’ vineyards on to rootstock. The norm is to buy varietal cuttings already grafted onto rootstock, but Jim couldn’t afford to do that. Even today, Jim prefers to do all his own grafting because it gives him more control over the varietal cuttings and rootstock. As he pointed out, nurses have to be obsessive controllers at work, and that trait spilled over into his other career.
From Winegrower to Winery Owner
Today Jim has over 50 acres of vineyards he has planted. He harvests about 150 tons of grapes annually, with just over half of those grapes being sold to other wineries. Originally, Jim sold all his grapes to other wineries, who made gold-medal winning wines with his fruit.
In 1991, his wife Eliza, who he credits for his continued success, challenged him by asking, “If you grow the best grapes in the world, how do you really know that unless you make wine from your own grapes?” Jim took on the challenge, initially as a quality assurance project. He attended winemaking courses at University of California Davis, and then entered his wines into the Sonoma County Harvest Fair amateur competition. After winning the top award multiple years, in 2005 Jim gave up his amateur status and opened his commercial winery. That was 20 years ago, and he still loves every minute of being a winery owner along with a grapegrower.
Down to One Career
In 2020 after over fifty years as a nurse, most of it spent in the ICU at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Jim left his job. His focus is now on his winery and vineyards, where he has long-time employees that support him in the vineyards, cellar, tasting room and office.
There is so much more to Jim’s story, so I recommend a visit to J. Rickards Winery to learn more. There Jim and his staff will immerse you into their world of grapegrowing and winemaking. Jim wants folks to understand where the wine come from, and to learn the why and how of what they do. He recommends coming during harvest (which is going on now) so you can taste ripe grapes, be walked through the process of what happens when grapes arrive in the cellar, taste the fermenting juice, and more.
Let The Story Continue
Jim, along with his winemaker Blaine, make 24 different wines. And although he can no longer enter the amateur wine competitions, his wines continue to win the top awards at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Next time you’re tasting along the Wine Road, be sure to stop at J. Rickards Winery, try Jim’s wines and hear more stories about this man with boundless energy.
Carolyn Ayers: Wine Advocate
Carolyn Ayers has been a fixture at Carol Shelton Wines for 15 years. Although she wears many hats at work, her main focus as Tasting Room Manager is making sure visitors have the best experience possible. When I asked Carolyn what she did before, she too had an interesting and unplanned path that led her to her life in the wine industry.
Prior to moving to Sonoma County from Southern California, Carolyn worked first in mortgage lending and later in an accounting role for a pharmaceutical company. When she arrived in Sonoma County, she again worked as a loan officer for a mortgage company, but found herself drawn into the winery industry.
Wine Industry Training Ground
In 2000, Carolyn applied for a winery tele-sales position at Windsor Vineyards that included training about wine. Carolyn fell in love with wine, especially the wines she was selling, which happened to be made by Carol Shelton. Not long after Carolyn started her new role, Carol Shelton left to start her own winery. Carolyn stayed on, selling through the vintages Carol had made. She and Carol kept in touch, and as soon as she could, Carolyn joined Carol’s new wine club.
Fast forward five years, and Carolyn was back as a mortgage loan officer, but it was short lived. The company moved to Minneapolis, so Carolyn had a choice to move to Minnesota or look for a new job. She opted to stay in California and has no regrets.
Back to Wine, and This Time for Good
In 2009, Carolyn started helping out during events at Carol Shelton Wines. By 2010 Carol had hired her to help out with the tasting room, wine club, in-house events and pour at events outside the winery, too. Carolyn even found herself helping out in the cellar during harvest.
When I asked Carolyn if she is satisfied with her career choice, she was very enthusiastic with her response. “I just fell into this job. I came to help out and 15 years later, I’m still here. I love this job!” said Carolyn. In particular, Carolyn loves the diversity of each work day, and the opportunity to learn so much about wine from Carol Shelton, who is so passionate about wine and winemaking.
Rewards of the Wine Industry
Asked what is the most rewarding part of her wine industry career, without hesitation Carolyn answered, “Turning people on to Carol Shelton Wines, sharing Carol’s wines at wine events and with visitors to the winery, and spreading the word of this amazing winemaker’s wines.”
If you’d like to meet Carolyn and try Carol Shelton’s wine, the tasting room, located in Santa Rosa, is open 7 days a week from 11 – 4, and no appointment is required. The $20 tasting fee is waived with a wine purchase.
Resonating Passion
Both Jim Rickards and Carolyn Ayers didn’t plan to work in the wine industry, yet both exude passion for wine and their careers. I encourage you to visit J. Rickards Winery and Carol Shelton Wines to meet the people you just read about, and taste the wines they are so excited to share.
You might also discover more stories about “what they did before” as you go wine tasting along the Wine Road. Everyone has a story, you just need to ask a question or two to uncover it.
Happy Sipping!
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Story Behind the Name – Part Two - Posted in: Wineries
- Tagged in: Alexander Valley, Carol Shelton, Carol Shelton Wines, Carolyn Ayers, Jim Rickards, Santa Rosa,
