Richard Thomas, a luminary of our modern day wine business, received the Sonoma County Winegrowers 2017 Nick Frey Community Contribution Award. Presented by President Kevin Barr at the annual January meeting, Kevin offered an historical perspective of Rich’s colorful career in agriculture.
Rich is first and foremost a teacher. He began his career at Healdsburg High School and returned to UC Davis in the 1970s to complete a Master’s Degree in Viticulture. His ultimate success at Santa Rosa Junior College with viticulture classes filled to capacity for almost 30 years was that he educated the vast majority of winegrowers in Sonoma County. Rich’s field trips in the infamous blue bus on which they toured vineyards throughout Northern California were legendary. With a big, booming voice, contagious enthusiasm and a sense of humor that transformed learning, Rich inspired generations of future winegrowers. “His intellectual approach to raising grapes coupled with his common sense and practicality made for many successful students that have grown into leaders in the wine industry today,” said Barr.
As a teacher, Richard had clear intentions. His goal was to elevate Sonoma County as a premium wine grape region. An aspect of his resume that caught my attention was how he revolutionized American trellis systems with new ideas learned while on sabbatical in Australia and New Zealand. He also brought innovative ideas with mechanization back to his classroom following a sabbatical in France and Italy. I am struck by how forward thinking our local community college was to provide travel opportunities, which enabled Richard to profoundly transform our fledgling viticulture industry.
In a written acceptance speech, he thanked his many mentors. “I simply acted as the conduit to the classroom in everything you taught me. The Robert Youngs, Rod Strongs, Angelo Sangiacomos, Steve Hills, Joe Rochiolis, and many other old timers not only helped me develop the SRJC Viticultural Program but were instrumental in shaping Sonoma County as a renowned world class premium grape growing region in the world.”
“In the early 1970s, when French Colombard, Carignane and Zinfandel were all ‘bush pruned’ (an Aussie term) and sold bulk to the big valley producers did anyone ever imagine how far we could go in a short 30-plus year period? Robert Young first planted Cabernet Sauvignon behind his house so no one would see it and think he was crazy. Joe Rochioli planted Sauvignon Blanc on the river bottom where the vines grew bigger than prune trees and required a chain saw to prune them. Who would have ever believed back then that these grounds would produce Sonoma County world-class wines?” continued Rich.
In addition to initiating drip irrigation and the use of permanent non-till cover crops in Sonoma County, Richard had the foresight and leadership to implement the first educational workshops in Spanish for our Latino farmworkers. For these and many other ground breaking innovations, Richard was selected in 1999 as American Vineyard Magazine’s North Coast Grower of the Year.
On a personal note, Rich had a profound effect upon my career in the wine business. My first encounter with him was in 1987, while I was public relations director for Ferrari-Carano, when he rolled in with a busload of students to study the vineyards. Soon after, he invited me to become one of the first wine business adjunct teachers in the SRJC AG/Natural Resources Department. As always, Richard was ahead of the curve in offering a business class to complement the thriving viticulture and enology program. Because of Richard, I have had the privilege for 27 years of teaching marketing and public relations to thousands of students. And, I am merely one person whose life and career are enhanced as a result of Rich’s tutelage.
Relevance for Today: In being honored with this Community Contribution Award, Richard was recognized for the second time by Congress for putting Sonoma County winegrowing on the global map. It is rare to receive a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition ever in a lifetime. Because of Congressman Mike Thompson’s acknowledgment, Richard’s accomplishments were once again read into the congressional record in Washington, DC and are part of American history. The success of our local hero will remain in the public national archive into perpetuity. Congratulations, Richard Thomas.
Marie Gewirtz represents wine and food clients with marketing and communications in Sonoma County and throughout the world. She can also be found maneuvering tractors on the banks of the Russian River with her two-year-old grandson. She can be reached at
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