Our Wonderful, Creative Winemakers   Michael Sones, Winemaker I am happy to introduce myself as the winemaker for CHAUCER'S CELLARS at BARGETTO WINERY. Before taking over for Paul Wofford, I worked as a cellarmaster at David Bruce Winery for over three years. Prior to David Bruce, I was employed for a number of years by that Mad Cap Jester of Vinedom, Randall Graham at Bonny Doon Vineyards. As you can see, I have spent my entire wine career in the Santa Cruz Mountains. However, I have not always been in the wine industry. I am from Worthing, a town on the southern coast of England. I started off my photography career working for small commercial studios in London, processing films and photographing boxes of Saran Wrap! After a couple of years of city life, I decided to make a move. I took a job as photographer on a Finnish car ferry sailing around the Canary Islands. In the winter, the Baltic Sea gets very miserable so Finn Lines thought it would be a good idea to send one of their ships to the sun. This was the start of my life as a cruise ship photographer. My first true cruise ship was the Fairsea that sailed from San Francisco to Alaska. During my time on the Fairsea, I had the opportunity to visit Monterey and Salinas. As a boy, I had read many of Steinbeck’s novels, so I was excited to make a literary pilgrimage to Monterey during the ship’s lay up in Alameda. Who would have thought that fifteen years later, I would be living here.
M. Eleni Papadakis, Assistant Winemaker   Eleni joined the winemaking team in 2004. With 15 years of professional experience in the wine industry, and several more helping her family ferment, brew, concoct and distill, Eleni actually got her professional start in the tasting room when she took a part-time job as a wine counselor. She quickly attempted to work her way back into the cellars by helping at harvest and with bottling. Later she returned to California State University Fresno to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology. A long-time Santa Cruzan, Eleni has worked for Bonny Doon Vineyard and Clos LaChance Winery as well as learning from harvests in Champagne, France and Chile’s central valley. She credits her Greek family for her interest in wine in addition to a year long foreign exchange her junior year of high school to Baden, Germany, home to the Blackforest and some of Germany’s premium wine country, where she also learned about distilling eau de vie/schnapps and formed life-long relationships. Currently, Eleni is working towards an MBA in Wine through the Bordeaux Ecole de Management. During her free time, Eleni and her sweetheart, Christopher, enjoy traveling, playing in the ocean and spending good times with friends and family.