Meet CAEP Enology Trainee, Tom Turner!

When Tom Turner was looking for more harvest experience to enhance his resume, he knew he wanted to venture from his home down under in New Zealand to somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. “Looking at my options, I got in touch with Delicato Vineyards in California and it seemed perfect. They were starting a new project at the Monterey winery to produce a new quality Pinot Noir for a new premium label they wanted to release,” said Tom. “My main thing that attracted me to Delicato for my training was that they had a big focus on Pinot Noir opposed to Cabernet Sauvignon, and that is the grape variety we have a lot of in New Zealand. And to be able to see a high-quality Pinot Noir produced was a driving factor.”

“I was lucky to have friends and family that were living in California so I could spend Christmas and Thanksgiving with them. Over Christmas break, we rented a Mustang convertible and drove around San Francisco a few days which was great! We also spent a few days at the national park and spent New Years Eve in L.A!”

“My host was fantastic! He was so open and his communication was excellent. He just included the interns in a lot as he tried to make it a valuable learning experience for us. He also really went out of his way to make sure that we were getting good information and good work experience. No experience is ever wasted, and it was such a valuable learning experience for me. Following my CAEP internship, I got a job working for a fantastic winery in New Zealand, one of the best wineries actually. The winery is called Cloudy Bay. Overall, it was great. California was great, and it was a good harvest! The whole exchange program is fantastic … it was a good experience!”