My name is Dave Rey and I am a candidate for the LWGA Board. I have been a Lafayette resident for over 32 years and I have an acre of vines and a winery at my home in the Reliez Valley area. I bottle my wines under the Reliez Valley Vineyards label.
My goal as a winegrower is to grow the best possible grapes from my vineyard location and make the best possible wine from the grapes I grow. I am the first generation in my family to have pursued a non-agricultural career, so having grown up in that world I am very comfortable with the farming aspects of winegrowing. I have an engineering education and I enjoy applying all the technology available to both viticulture and winemaking.
I was an early member of the group but my business travels left me little time to get involved until I retired in 2011. I previously served on the Board from 2011 to 2016. During that time I focused mainly on leading the committee that pursued and secured our AVA designation.
I was elected to the Board again in 2020 and I am currently leading the effort to develop a five year plan for the organization. I would like to serve another term on the Board so that I can complete that project and help see the plan implemented.
My name is Bill Scanlin and I have been on the LWGA board and run the website since 2008, have been President in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and have been Treasurer Since 2020. I have been growing grapes and making wine since 1998 and started my commercial winery Deer Hill Vineyards in 2010.
I have been in technology my entire career and am currently Chief Technology Officer at a fintech startup.
I believe the organization needs to be an important resource for its members to help them grow better grapes and make better wine. We can also educate the Lamorinda community on what we are doing and help them setup their own vineyards and try some of the great wine made here. I think we have made great improvements in meeting these goals and would like to continue to move the organization forward
I’m Amy Schofield and have served on the LWGA Board for the past four years. In that time I have focused on the LWGA’s communications and interactions with the wider community including the AVA celebrations and social media, and with the membership through the newsletter and surveys. I look forward to the opportunity to continue serving the LWGA.
Outside of my involvement in LWGA, I am opening Germinate Kitchen alongside Local Vines. I still prefer red over white, full bodied over light, and milk over dark.
My name is Bill Saupe, and I’d like your vote to be on the Board of the Association. I qualify myself like a bottle of wine—the more I get older, the more it tastes sweet (internet quote).
I’ve been a wine lover all my life, but I’m new to wine growing. I planted 132 Cabernet Sauvignon wines in 2021 during the pandemic, and have faithfully nurtured, communed with, and battled gophers and birds for the grapes ever since. I’m not sure its savour-ready yet, but it sure has been fun and a great learning experience.
I recently joined the LWGA Education Committee, and will be helping plan speakers for all levels of learning and interests. On the Board, I want to promote the quality, presence, reputation, and camaraderie of the group.
When I am not working on being an enthusiastic vigneron, I am working in Berkeley in my Prosthodontic practice. I went to dental school at Northwestern University in Chicago, Prosthodontic training at UCSF, and got my MBA at UOP.
Thank you for your consideration with a toast to all for 2024—may we always have old wine, old friends, and young cares.
Hi! I am Marcy Ryan Nichol and am a long-time Orinda resident. My interest in wine started when I was a student at CAL working at the Vintage House, a restaurant in Orinda with a wine theme (some of you long time Lamorinda residents may recall the restaurant).
I have 200 Zinfandel vines which were planted in 2013. I thank my grandmother who provided the seed money and who enjoyed a glass of wine every day until she died at 100. Bill Scanlin is my winemaker ( I consider myself fortunate!).
I manage the vineyard myself, and find the many hours in the vineyard to be therapeutic, incredibly rewarding, and much like life – unpredictable. I recognize how much I don’t know and have found LWGA invaluable in my learning trajectory. I am eager to learn and equally important – want to contribute and give back, hence my interest in serving on the board. I recently joined the Education committee, and I am excited about the direction LWGA is headed.
In my other life, I have extensive experience in Human Resources/Employee Relations in the airline, retail and banking industries. I am currently with SVB/FCB, a financial institution.
I appreciate your consideration for this position!
