Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1011938
64 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 Wente Selections with Niki Wente Viticulture runs through Fifth-Generation Winegrower Niki Wente's blood. Her father Phil has been tending to Wente vines since 1974, and Niki was determined to follow suit by age 14. "Every time my dad talked about the vineyards, he did so with so much passion and love that it was easily absorbed," she says. "I loved being outside, I loved watching the vines grow, I loved everything about it." After graduating from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo with a degree in wine and viticulture, Niki gained experi - ence working in grower relations at Huneeus Vineyards in Napa Valley before starting her career at Wente Vineyards in March 2017. Driving through the vineyards that surround her childhood home, Niki points to one of the latest blocks she helped cultivate. After graduation, the family needed an extra hand during the 2014 harvest—the same year Phil happened to be making selections for new plantings. { cover story } "We're farmers first. Over the years, we've been purchasing land and farming more and more so that we can be in control of the quality of our fruit," says Fifth-Generation Winegrower and Viticulturist Niki Wente.