Apprenticeship Program Participating Farms

Captain Vineyards

Sal and Susan Captain
Moraga, CA
2.5 acres



Sal has degrees in Engineering, and managed medical devices R&D until retirement in 2008. Susan has her degree in Statistics, and grew and managed our 4 children. Both of us took many classes, attended symposiums, and lectures in both Viticulture and Oenology. That made us choose the area that we feel most comfortable with (Viticulture for Susan, Oenology for Sal). Susan chose the varietals and contracted a vineyard management company from Napa to design and install the layout, vines and canopy. By 2008, we had our first commercially viable grape products and officially got our permits and licenses as a winery. We both had to go on a fast track of doing and studying the art and science of viticulture and Oenology.

Do you have a land ethic? If so, how do you express it? How do ecological and environmental considerations fit into your operational structure and decision making?
We believe in preserving the quality of the land we live on. We practice dry farming as much as possible and we practice sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM). We also believe one can design the farm to be less dependent on chemicals. As far as economics, we do most of the work required ourselves and consider it fun, exercise and fresh air; along with beautiful views.

What are the most important considerations in your everyday work on your farm?
Safety of people and animals is a must, then effective and efficient use of energy in every operation we undertake in the vineyard and winery.

Specific tasks or projects the apprentice is anticipated to work on:
Apprentices can anticipate walking the vineyard regularly to inspect the 2 acres of vines, tucking shoots, checking on the grape health, and searching for any indications of diseases. Other tasks include repairing wires, fences, terraces, and retaining walls, as well as weeding, hedging, pruning, shredding, harvesting, crushing grapes, punch downs, pressing, racking, bottling, labeling, corking, and cleaning barrels, tanks, crushers, bins, and tools. Our onsite winery offers opportunities for meeting customers, wine tasting, conducting tours of the vineyard and being involved in all aspects of marketing, planning and executing on plans.

General work schedule and time off:
We do not consider it work, it’s fun, exercise and fresh air, so we do what has to be done, when it needs to be done, and schedule everything else around that. It seems our kids and grandkids think we are always on vacation here, so they come over often, and we go to them too. Usually we start early morning when it's cool.

Motivation for participating in the apprenticeship program:
Susan ran the 4 H viticulture chapter in our area, we were also founding members of the Lamorinda Wine Growers Association (LWGA) and also offered many classes in Sustainable Grape Growing practices using the IPM guidelines. We realize that the young people are our future, and if we invest the time and effort in passing whatever we have gained in knowledge, it will make for a much better world for all of us. We had several interns from local high schools, colleges etc. usually for few to several months at a time, but never had an employee apprentice before, When we heard about this program, we decided we should give it a try and see how far can we go to help somebody else who may not have the opportunity otherwise.

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