People

The Vino Vargas collection is exquisitely crafted by a team of artisans committed to bringing you the best wine possible. We use experience, art and science to convert grapes into wine. Meticulous tasting during the aging of each wine guide the vital food, beverage and dessert pairings which complement each Vino Vargas wine. Whether in the vineyard, the cellar or the bottling room, each person is focused on making your bottle of Vino Vargas amazing from start to finish..

Winemaker
(UC Davis)

“I love making wine! To me it’s as enjoyable as playing my guitar or taking a photo of a beautiful sunset. Being able to coax wine out of a ton of grapes is really a labor of love. I truly feel humbled that people seek out our wines and it is a great privilege to be able to offer them to you.”

After growing up in Biggs, a small agricultural town in Northern California, Pedro left to become an electronics engineer. The original goal was to build electronic musical instruments which had long been a passion for him. But armed with an EE degree he rapidly moved into marketing and business development roles for major Silicon Valley companies. After a long successful career of building technical businesses including several of his own startups, he yearned for a more balanced life. The trajectory of a career switch converged rapidly with studies and a winemaking education from UC Davis. The first chapter of his new career as winemaker started with Pedro making wine for small clients (a couple of barrels) and some very large ones (20,000 cases). At the same time the nascent Vino Vargas brand was launched and had an immediate following. Wanting to get back to the country, Pedro and Vicky searched far and wide and finally picked Paso Robles as their next home. Today, the Vino Vargas winery is where Pedro and Vicky along with their team create memorable wines that represent the best of Paso and California grapes. Now that he has a little more time available, Pedro even gets to play music every once in a while.

Sommelier
(The French Culinary Institute)

“As a wine sommelier, my goal is to help people enjoy wine. Enhancing their experience with wine is an individual thing and I truly enjoy both guiding a new wine drinker or introducing a seasoned aficionado to a new wine.”

It’s a long way from high school in Eureka California to a marketing career working for some of the largest hardware and software tech companies in the world. But armed with an MBA from Santa Clara University and a BS from Cal Poly, Vicky set out to the mecca of tech for a long career. Silicon Valley was also an ideal location to visit wine country in Napa, Sonoma, Livermore and Lodi. With each visit Vicky took in the wine, the history and quickly decided that she liked this. On further visits to Mendoza, Argentina, and along the Rhine in Europe it became clearer to Vicky and her husband Pedro that they wanted to make winemaking their life. This desire directly fueled her accomplishment as a certified sommelier with the prestigious French Culinary Institute. Finally, with long family roots in SLO county, Paso Robles became the obvious place to launch a second career in wine. Now with Vino Vargas, Vicky uses her wine knowledge to create memorable wines and all of the pairings that help to set them apart.