Alisa Jacobson (who goes by “AJ”) has followed her passion for agriculture and the sciences from an early age. She was raised in the fertile California Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Growing up in and around farms instilled in her a lifelong desire to find ways to help protect the land and water supply and to educate people about preserving natural resources.

In 2001, upon graduation from UC Davis with a degree in viticulture and enology, Jacobson found work in cellars and winemaking labs in California focused on sparkling wine production. She also ventured to Australia to make Shiraz (and to take deep dives along the Great Barrier Reef!). After returning to California, Jacobson began work at Joseph Phelps, which is where she met Joel and Sarah Gott.

In 2003, the Gotts hired her as their first employee. She helped usher the Joel Gott wine label from obscurity to the globally-recognized iconic brand it is today. Jacobson rose to the rank of VP of Winemaking, overseeing a team of 30, and managing all winery and vineyard operations throughout California, Oregon, and Washington, as well as projects in Argentina, Chile, Italy, France, and New Zealand. Recently, she passed the baton back to Joel and Sarah Gott and set out to forge her own path with a renewed and passionate focus on making wine from sustainably-farmed vineyards in coastal regions.