Stirling Fox
Stirling fell in love with Oregon wine back in 1985 while working at local restaurants to put himself through college. He began at OSU in 1988 and completed five years of coursework in the Food and Wine Science program there.
From harvest of 1988 through 1994, Stirling worked primarily for Barney Watson at Tyee Wine Cellars as the Production Manager of the 3000 case facility. This experience gave him valuable experience and perspective on fruit quality and the resulting wines possible when care is taken in the vineyard.
In 1995 Stirling began a two year stint working for Mark Benoit, founder of OVS, and other growers as a new technology specialist, operating the latest imported machinery from New Zealand/Washington State(Nairn & Blueline Manufacturing Co.s) to complete the standard management practices removing leaves, hedging canopies, and harvesting fruit. Prominent client sites at that time included Shea Vineyards, Bob Grimes, Chateau Benoit, Benzinger Oregon, Benton Lane, Argyle-Knudsen Vineyard, Broadley, Farmer Road, Doe Ridge(now Black Family in Yamhill) and more.
In 1997, Stirling was hired by Willamette Valley Vineyards to manage their various owned and leased properties totaling 300 vine acres and also serve as the Vineyard Liason under WVV Head Winemaker, Joe Dobbes. WVV purchased from at least 50 vineyards each year. There was a lot of driving!
After three years at WVV, Stirling was hired away in March of 2000 to take the position of General Manager for Rex Hill Wineries farming division, Oregon Grape Management. In his seven year tenure at OGM, he managed twenty-six separate vineyards and developed new sites all over the North Willamette Valley.
In late 2006, Rex Hill Winery and OGM were purchased by A to Z and so Stirling formed his own eponymous company, which currently manages many different vineyard sites in the Northern Willamette Valley. Come take a tour!
Stirling has always been involved in the spectrum of disciplines that make up the dynamic and multifaceted Oregon wine industry over the span of time working at many various tasting events, numerous vineyard industry meetings, research and development projects in partnership with OSU, and the locally founded LIVE program as their board chair from 2004 to 2006. He continues to be active in the industry still serving on the LIVE board of directors, on the North Willamette Viticultural Tech. Committee, Salud Worker Health Program advocacy and more.
His overriding philosophy has been to work closely with the winemakers to achieve a consistently high level of quality and balance each year. He is passionate about achieving fruit quality in the challenging conditions of our cool climate.
The Staff
SWiG has a full time staff of dedicated employees who divide and conquer the challenges that each vintage and vineyard brings to us. Every year is different in a cool climate zone.
Site Managers- Bruce Sonnen and Mike Smith work to coordinate seasonal crew and equipment operations to maximize efficiency in a safe and responsible manner. They are great guys so they interact with clients on a daily basis.
Shop Manager- Jim Sherman keeps the tractors in top form by troubleshooting problems and keeping equipment maintained properly throughout the year. Jim is a veteran in the winegrape industry and adds depth to our experience quotient at SWiG. He can fix your tractor too!
Office Manager- DeSjawn Young keeps all our records and provides site detail for our customers on an as needed basis. As you can imagine, she does all the accounting and payroll so her job is complex and she keeps our ship “Balanced”.
Crew Managers- Gamaliel Garcia and our entire staff keep our seasonal labor force safe and on task throughout the growing season. You are welcome to join them at your place. The crew appreciate when the site owners and winemakers take part in the process during the growing season.
Irrigation Specialist- Juan Cruz makes sure that irrigated sites are ready for the seasonal needs of our usually dry summers. At SWiG, we install and maintain water systems as needed for the property under management. Juan programs all the timed watering schedules for each site and client situation.
Senior Equipment Specialist- Jorge Gonzalez is our rover who goes where needed because of his track record of reliability. When we need to get something done, we often call Jorge. He is a gifted mechanic and equipment operator.
