 Terry Mathison is literally part of this land. Born in St. Helena, he has lived in the Napa Valley all his life. In fact, his great-great-grandparents settled here in 1865, and both Terry's father and grandfather farmed grapes, plums and cattle. Terry learned to drive a tractor when he was six years old. By age fourteen, he was working in his family's vineyards every day after school.
Terry brings to Rudd a strong sense of place and a thorough understanding of the Napa Valley with its varied soils and microclimates. He has grown grapes on this Oakville estate for nearly a decade, having worked here when the Girard family owned the land. Over the past six years he has overseen the entire replanting of the vineyard to close spacing and the installation of a new trellising system, a project that has been highly praised by the venerable Australian viticulturist, Dr. Richard Smart.
Terry is currently developing the vineyard property that the winery owns in the highly acclaimed Mount Veeder appellation. In addition, Rudd has acquired ten acres of vineyard land directly across from the winery on Oakville Crossroad that Terry is replanting to match the high-density vineyards on the existing estate.
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