3/3 Andrew & Jen Talk With Luke Pedotti & Eric Deitz

About Luke Pedotti: A native of Sonoma County, CA, Luke received his B.S. degree in Agricultural Systems Management and Minor in Agricultural Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1998. While attending Cal Poly he was an active member of the Ag Business Management Club and the Vines to Wines Club. It was in 1997 when he first became actively involved in the wine grape industry when granted a summer internship working for Clos du Bois in their estate vineyards in the Alexander Valley. There he conducted irrigation analysis, crop projecting and was involved in many aspects of vineyard canopy and floor management.

Upon graduating Luke was employed by Dutton Ranch in Sebastopol, CA as Vineyard Supervisor where he participated in the development and farming of many vineyards in the Russian River Valley over the course of three years. In 2001 Luke and his wife, Nikki, moved to McMinnville, OR after receiving a job offer to manage 180 acres of vineyards for Evergreen Agricultural Enterprises.

It was in 2004 that he became a member of the Results Partners LLC management team based in McMinnville, OR, where he was the company's General Manager. While there, he developed and managed a number of vineyards throughout Yamhill County for more than twenty clients until 2009.

Luke accepted the position of Director of Vineyard Operations for Winemakers Investment Properties LLC in December of 2009 where he currently oversees 700 acres of vineyards in the Northern Willamette Valley. He is currently a member of the LIVE (Low Impact Viticulture and Enology) Technical committee and Willamette Valley Vineyard Technical Committee. He has also recently started my own small consultation business (Pedotti Vineyard Solutions) where he offers vineyard management oversight and direction and reviews new properties for vineyard potential for those interested in entering the Oregon wine industry.

Luke and Nikki make their home in Carlton, OR.

Also joining the show is Eric Dietz, Pyrenees Vineyard and Winery manager and property caretaker.

Eric Dietz is the Vineyard Manager at Pyrenees Vineyard in Myrtle Creek, Oregon.

Eric grew up in Laguna Beach, Ca. and worked landscape construction for a dozen years after school. In 1992 he moved to Mendocino County in Northern California, built a house for his mother, and started a family. He worked in forestry and alternative energy systems.

Eric moved his family to San Clemente in 2001 and he worked at San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station as a cement mason building defensive structures. When that was finished he worked as a troubleshooter for a door company, fixing things all over Southern California.

The family moved to Southern Oregon in 2009 and Eric has been working in grapes since then.

Eric enjoys surfing, scuba, and time in the wild.