People

Originally from Montréal, Québec, Côme made his way to California as a technology entrepreneur. His ventures started in Africa where he pioneered mobile telecom services, to Silicon Valley in the smartphone, venture capital and intellectual property spaces. He grew up with a large extended family, with 10 generations in agriculture going back to 1690. His grandfather farmed an apple orchard that eventually became Quebec’s pioneering ice wine vineyard, l’Orpailleur. A passion for wines brought him to explore the special Amador County region and eventually secure his own vineyard in the premiere California Shenandoah Valley AVA. Making the very first barrel of Primitivo under the watchful eye of an expert winemaker sparked a new passion to make great wines. Nearly a decade later he has expanded La Mesa’s vineyards by planting new varietals, embraced the art and science of viticulture and artisan winemaking and the business of growing La Mesa for all to enjoy.

Antonia de Heinrich is La Mesa’s consulting winemaker. Antonia has spent the past two decades working in top wineries around the world – Chateau Montelena, Kim Crawford, Hogue, Ravenswood and Banshee. She
completed her WSET Level 2 in New York and her Certificate in Winemaking from UC Davis. Her appreciation for wine began in Spain and evolved during wine immersion courses at the New York French Culinary Institute. At Ravenswood as winemaker, Antonia was responsible for cellar and day-to-day operations, sourcing and blending for all wines. It was through Ravenswood that Antonia discovered the high quality vineyards and fruit Amador County has to offer. Her sense that Amador wine country is on the brink of something exciting, led her to take the plunge and relocate to the area to build her winemaking consulting business and enjoy the great outdoors of the Sierras.

Jesus is La Mesa's Vineyard Manager overseeing all aspects of the estate vineyards and upkeep, along with various improvement projects. Jesus is often seen in the field throughout the growing season, tending to the vines. All vineyard tasks through to harvest are under his watchful care. In between he keep the grounds beautiful for all to enjoy, assists with cellar activities and tasting room support. Jesus mastered vineyard management working with Amador Screaming Eagle Vineyard Management which manages over 600 acres in Amador County.

Christine has been running the tasting room since we launched and brings her acumen in brand-making, team-building and hospitality excellence. She graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Following a marketing internship with the Sacramento River Cats, she spent 8 years at Oak Ridge Winery in Lodi, growing their tasting room from scratch. In 2020 she ventured into our region and fell in love with Amador county. When she is not working you can find her watching a Giants baseball game, rooting on favorite shortstop Brandon Crawford, doing fixer projects on her house, spending time with family and staying fit with her dog Samson.