Ciriaco Hernandez
“I'm proud to be part of a company that does what it takes to be the best.”
Role
Director of Vineyard Operations
Duration
Since 1988
With a team that includes all of our regional vineyard managers, our foremen, our vineyard crews, our equipment managers as well as our truck drivers, Ciriaco is “the man” when it comes to getting things done. One of Renteria’s earliest employees – he joined the company just a year or so after we started – Ciriaco has risen through the ranks and grown as we’ve grown. As our longtime friend and consultant, DeWitt Garlock says, “Ciriaco is one of the best supervisors of people I’ve ever met; he has an innate ability to connect.”
Ciriaco came to Napa Valley when he was just 20 years old, leaving his home in Michoacán, Mexico where his family worked in farming and construction. His first job as a vineyard worker didn’t stick: “I thought I wanted to do something other than agriculture.” But after returning to Mexico briefly, he came back to Napa and took a position at Renteria. “As soon as I worked with Sal and Oscar I fell in love with the job.” Ciriaco’s natural curiosity, his willingness to try new things and his adaptability have served him well as farming in Napa Valley has changed. “There’s been a complete evolution in the vineyard since I started – new techniques, practices, equipment, everything. I always like to see what else we can try – whatever we can do to make quality even higher.”