Establishing Deep Roots - Q&A with Vineyard Manager David Maduena

By Lauren Phelps

It was with great pleasure that I sat down with Vineyard Manager David Maduena to find out more about his 24-year career at Tablas Creek.  David is the longest-tenured member of our team, beginning as a part of our first crews working to establish the nursery and vineyard programs.  He's normally a man of few words, and it was a treat to find out more about him and to learn from him how Tablas Creek has changed in the almost quarter-century he has been here.

I found a filing cabinet full of old photos, still on slides.  This one is David circa 1994.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in Durango City, Mexico and lived there until I was 15 years old. I came to Paso Robles when I was 15 and lived with my parents and siblings.

Can you tell me a little about how you started working at Tablas Creek?

I started working in the local vineyards all around the area- a week or two here and there. I helped plant and add irrigation lines to Mount Mourvedre in 1992. I began working permanently here in 1993 when we started building the quonset huts and expanded the nursery project. [Editor's note: we published an archive of photos from those early years, one of which shows David manning a backhoe for an early irrigation trench, late last year.]

What is your general vineyard management philosophy?

I always look to do the best for the vineyard. I deal with a lot of different things in the vineyard from gopher control to managing a crew of between 7 and 30 people and I just try to keep everything in control.

What do you think about organic farming?

I think organic is good, it helps to not put a lot of chemicals in the soil- everything is natural so you’re not killing the soil, you’re helping it. And it’s better for the crew, they don’t have to wear special protective gear to keep them safe.

What’s your biggest challenge as a Vineyard Manager?

The biggest challenge is to take care of everything out there. I have to deal with a lot of different people and it’s not easy to find a good way to talk to the crew. Some supervisors are mean to the workers but that’s not good for them and not good for us.

How do you spend your days off?

I like to play soccer or basketball with my kids. I have 7 kids and they are always playing something. I spend most of my time off with my family.

If you weren’t growing wine grapes for a living, what would you be doing?

I went to school to learn to become an electrician or I’d like to do welding. I think that would be fun and I have some skill for those things.

What do you like about working at Tablas Creek?

I like working with nice people that’s the main thing. I feel comfortable here.

How do you define success?

Success to me is to make progress in life. You start from the bottom, like I did. I was just a normal worker, now I’ve been here so many years that they trust me and made me a Vineyard Manager and now I have more responsibility and take care of the whole place. I think that is success.