For a guy born just outside San Francisco, agriculture played a big role in Jerry’s life growing up. Every summer, Jerry and his three brothers piled into the family station wagon and drove to Kansas and Nebraska where they helped out on their uncles’ farms. So, when given a chance to drive a forklift while volunteering at a winery at the age of 23, Jerry jumped at the chance. It couldn’t be all that different from a tractor, could it?
Jerry, a graduate the University of Washington (a degree in organic chemistry) and a graduate of the police academy, soon began helping out at a number of Woodinville wineries- including Matthews, Mark Ryan and Baer. After about four years of volunteering, Jerry decided to start Guardian Cellars in 2004 with one Bordeaux-style blend, a Cabernet and a Syrah. Though still a cop, and now a father of two sweet girls, Jerry remains our lead winemaker.