Chatting with Chris Cocchiaro

What brought you to the wine industry?

I grew up around wine, and always found it to be more than just a beverage. Spending a summer in Perugia, studying the Italian language and culture really opened my eyes to the much broader world of wines, and set me on a path to getting into the business. I drank a lot of sweet Vino Bianco Frizzante that summer, but left with a handful of dry wines from local producers Ricasoli and Lungarotti as I recall.

CCVT is the only sustainability group I am aware of with such a broad membership, and board.  We really have people from all stripes of the wine industry participating, which feels right to me.  It has become part of the fabric of the Central Coast wine industry.

More Consumer Programs, and joint industry and consumer education.  As we look at our strategic plan for the organization, we are much more aware of how our message gets out, and the impact it has on a larger and larger audience.  We still need to keep our eye on everything we have done, but also extend our reach.

Sustainable farming should be important to everyone.  Unfortunately, it’s not.  Surprisingly, our consumer culture is full of conflicting information, and that is why CCVT is important.  Informing the industry, so we can broaden the message to the general public, is critical to all farming in the future.

Although still in process, the work that the SIP Winery Certification committee is doing is going to be very impactful.  Having the pair of vineyard and winery certifications at such a comprehensive level will really be a benefit to SIP and the industry overall.

I never work, I enjoy everything I do.  I guess I am lucky.  If not buying or selling grapes, wine or winery services, I am in my 600 sq ft of vegetable beds, cooking for 20 people at the house, or Kathy and I are planning another trip overseas, bottling and selling our own wines, or hanging out at one of the great beaches here on the Central Coast.