Previous Recipients
2021
Shelby Frey | Hanzell Vineyards
2020
Maryn Tudor | Hanzell Vineyards
Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Currently has an internship at Hirsch Winery, Sonoma Coast, CA
"I was a recipient of the Jimmy Mancbach Scholarship this year and I want to let you know about my experience and thank you for making it possible. I did my harvest at Hanzell Vineyards in Sonoma. Although the fires and COVID-19 have made it a uniquely challenging experience, I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there. I arrived at the winery in late July and after a brief period of isolation, I joined everybody on the bottling line for a week. Once we were done with bottling, we started preparing for harvest by cleaning and sanitizing the winery, walking through the vineyards, and collecting and testing the fruit. Walking through vineyards is one of my favorite jobs and I even got to visit the off-premises vineyards with the winemaker, McNeill. The estate fruit was ready earlier than expected which turned out to be a bit of a good thing as the fires started near the end of everything getting picked. Most of the time I was on the sorting table picking out leaves and grass from the fruit. We had some long days sorting but there was always good conversation and good music which made it seem shorter. Once harvest began we did punch-downs on all the red wine several times throughout the day. When the wine started fermenting the punch-downs would release bubbles which made the tanks look kind of like bright pink bubble baths. The color of fresh wine can be really beautiful. Pressing the reds went by fast and soon enough all the fermentations were finishing. After that, there wasn't much left to do besides cleaning everything up and storing it for next year. I'm really glad that I got to work at such a historic winery and be involved in so many parts of the winemaking process. Everyone that worked there was so friendly and inviting and I'm so grateful for all of them. Thank you for helping to provide this scholarship. It has really been one of the best experiences of my life and will help me so much in my future career and I owe it to you."
Kylie Stehmeier| Au Bon Climat
University of California Davis, San Luis Obispo
Currently employed at Brvghelli Wines
"I had the pleasure of spending Harvest 2020 under the Au Bon Climat team. During the opportunity, I had the unique experience of working in a collaborative winemaking facility processing the fruit for over 10 different and distinct labels with fruit from around Santa Barbara county. This experience taught me the value of communication, teamwork, patience, and overall hard work. The team taught me the ins and outs of processing fruit in a medium-size winery. Arturo, the everything man of the facility, was a great teacher when it came to forklift mastery, machine maintenance, pressing, and processing. Henri was a calm and confident teacher when it came to making tasks easier and cleaner. Marisa and Mark, the Assistant winemakers, gave me everyday tips to craft world-class wines. Every day at lunch the entire team would sit down to a lunch cooked by none other than Jim Clendenen himself, with a lineup of world-class wines. Over the course of harvest, I was able to taste through over 300 different wines ranging in vintage variety and point of origin.
The quality of fruit coming through the facility as well as the caliber of wine being made allowed me to develop a deep love and appreciation for the central coast wine region. This opportunity allowed me to find a position working for Michael Brughelli under his Vignerons Vineyard and Winemaking Consulting as well as under his new ultra-premium label Brughelli Wines. He processed some of his wines at the Au Bon Climat facility and appreciated the work I put into his projects.
Needless to say, I can not express my gratitude to the foundation for supporting young winemakers like me. In a year full of chaos and uncertainty this experience provided the opportunity to establish a stable base for my career.
Thank You All So Much! "
Alana Ladd| Heitz Vineyards
DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Currently Wine Ambassador at Knights Bridge Winery in Calistoga, CA
"My experience at Heitz Cellar for the 2020 Harvest was wonderful. During a difficult year full of challenges, including devastating fires in Napa Valley, the internship I completed at Heitz was invaluable. The team that I worked with was made up of some of the best people I’ve ever met. The full-time team members guided and trained me with positivity every step of the way. They will be lifelong mentors and friends as time goes on.
Despite the adversity, we faced this year, I was able to gain new knowledge every single day on the job. From learning how to do pump-overs, to sampling grapes in the vineyards and barreling down wine, the hands-on wine work that I took part in added to my knowledge and appreciation for the wine world. Not only did I gain muscles lifting barrels and wine hoses, but I also gained a deeper understanding of how much attention and dedication goes into every bottle of fine wine. Upon completion of the internship with the Jimmy Mancbach Memorial Scholarship Foundation, I am even more confident that the wine industry is where I belong. When my Heitz internship ends, I will continue working in Napa Valley as a Wine Ambassador for Knights Bridge Winery. As I continue the journey, I will carry all of the experiences that I acquired this harvest as an intern. I will always be grateful to the JMMSF for bringing me to Napa Valley, and for allowing me to pursue my passion for a career in fine wine."
2019
Sergio Bernal | Heitz Cellars
"My time at Hanzell was nothing shy of extraordinary. This experience has allowed me to enhance my knowledge of winemaking and put into practice the things I learned a year prior (while interning at Heitz with the Jimmy Mancbach Scholarship Foundation). If it wasn’t for this, I would have missed out on a lot of the best moments of my life. I made many great memories and close friendships that will last a lifetime. I could not have asked for a better experience.!!!! I have returned to Hanzell in a full-time position as Assistant Farm Manager. It’s a great opportunity for me to work in and understand every aspect and department here at the winery, so I am looking forward to building my skill set and jump-starting on my career!"
Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Currently Assistant Farm Manager at Hanzell Vineyards
Danielle Gottbrect | Au Bon Climat
"My time at Au Bon Climat has finally - and very sadly - come to an end. Though my body is grateful for a break after a demanding harvest, I can't help but miss the Central Coast already. For the past three months, I've been busy crushing, stomping, pouring, bottling, cleaning fastidiously, and tasting some of the greatest wines to date. I feel I've had such a comprehensive view of production - including the blood, sweat, and tears that go into winemaking. I'll never look at a bottle of pinot the same way again! It's been an absolute joy to work with the crew at ABC and I am so thankful for your support of JMMSF. My harvest experience has been nothing short of life-changing"
Guilford College, Greensboro, NC
Currently working crush at Pernod Ricard in New Zealand.
2018
Brian Hogue | Hanzell Vineyards
"My time in California at Hanzell Vineyards has been a strong affirmation of my decision to pursue a career in the wine industry. The opportunity I was given through this scholarship was a game changer, providing an experience I likely could not have had otherwise. I had long felt that in order to be a successful Sommelier I would need to travel, I would need to connect with people globally, building relationships that would grow stronger as the years went on. That’s a tall order for a kid from South Carolina with limited resources. Because of this scholarship, I now have the beginnings of a network that I will grow with a career”
Graduate of University of South Carolina
Currently Sommelier at Halls Chophouse
Simone Landau | Au Bon Climat
"I just wanted to give you a brief update on life at Au Bon Climat. I’ve been here two weeks now, and to summarize, this is the greatest place ever. It’s like one big family that speaks three languages to each other, works out together and eats meals together. They make excellent wines and I’ve never felt more at home than I do here. I want to thank you for the opportunity to come here and be a part of this amazing experience.”
Graduated Cornell University, CALS, Major in Viticulture & Enology
Currently Currently working at Craggy Range in New Zealand
Sergio Bernal | Heitz Cellars
Graduate of Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Currently Assistant Farm Manager at Hanzell Vineyards
2017
Deandra Anderson | Au Bon Climat
"Regardless of where or when I discovered wine, today it has led me to study International Wine Business in Germany where my theoretical knowledge of the wine industry and international markets has vastly expanded. This internship will allow me to actually apply that knowledge and further develop through experiential learning. Moreover, this opportunity will nurture my future career aspirations in the wine industry by exposing me to another side of the process - production and a different market"
Hochachule Geisenheim’s, International Wine Business
2016
Zachary Stocksdale | Hanzell Vineyards
"The small winemaking team at Hanzell Vineyards cultivates a family-like environment, with a sincere interest in providing an engaging and holistic harvest experience for all involved. This work atmosphere eased the daily grind of harvest, whether vineyard sampling at sunrise, spending long hours on the sorting table, toiling away in the barrel-aging cave, or performing late-night punchdowns. It was wonderful to implement and expand on the knowledge I’ve acquired through formal study, by working closely with so many experienced wine professionals."
MS at UC Davis, Viticulture and Enology
Viticulturist at Wisele Vineyards
Grant Thompson Laird | Au Bon Climat
"The internship was amazing! Everyone at ABC was beyond generous and taught me even more about the varying taste of wine than I could've imagined."
University of Georgia
2015
Alison Bart | Soter Vineyards
"Working at Soter provided an unbelievable opportunity to get a taste of many of the major facets of winemaking as well as an understanding of the Oregon wine industry. From day one I was thrown into the biggest part of working the harvest: cleaning. As the weeks progressed I was able to take on more responsibilities, from sampling and labwork to topping off barrels to the many punchdowns and pumpovers required for Pinot. The hours were very long and the work is very intense, but it’s hard to beat the vineyard sunrises and sunsets I would see most days. As the operation is quite small, I really was able to learn a bit of everything and had so much fun gaining the knowledge that I could discuss when visiting vineyards in the area and elsewhere."
Graduate of The University of Pennsylvania
Marketing strategist and wine buyer at Zachys