Our People
"It takes a dedicated team to make it work."
Executives:
Justin Baldwin
Co-Proprietor
Former investment and international banker, Justin and his wife Deborah, founded JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery in 1981 when they purchased 160 acres west of Paso Robles on California's Central Coast and planted their estate vineyards.
Since its inception, Justin has focused his efforts on producing world class Bordeaux style blends from the estate vineyards for the JUSTIN label. Justin is a pioneer in producing this style of wine on the Central Coast and his efforts have been rewarded with past and present vintages earning 90+ points by the major wine trade publications. More encompassing recognition has come from awards such as the Grand Sweepstakes award winner, Best of class, Best of Region, the coveted Pichon Lalande trophy for "World's Best Blended Red Wine" and Wine Spectators Top 10 Wines of the World. Vintages have received numerous accolades by capturing Decanter Magazine's "4 Stars", Restaurant Wine's "3 Forks" and Connoisseurs Guide's" 3 Puffs". Justin has consistently earned the praise of the wine press with recognition from the likes of Robert M. Parker Jr. naming Justin Baldwin one of his "Wine Heroes of the Year" and the "Star of Paso Robles", the James Beard Foundations "Great American Winemaker Award", Quarterly Review of Wine's "Top 3 Cabernet Producers of the Year", and Wine Enthusiast's "Top Cabernet and Blended Wine Producers List" for seven years running.
Food and JUSTIN wines go together. In fact, JUSTIN is the only winery on California’s Central Coast to retain a full-time chef whose kitchen works daily to pair acclaimed JUSTIN wines with fresh seasonal and vineyard grown offerings. Justin is an active participant in the wine world. He is a frequent panelist at prominent food and wine events worldwide, is a board member of the Family Winemakers of California, board member of the Wine Institute, board member of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, vice-chair Paso Robles AVA committee, co-founder of the West Side Grand Crew, the Far out Wineries of Paso Robles and The Wellness Community Central Coast. For their contributions he and his wife have been named the Paso Robles Wine Industry persons of the year and Justin has been made a Commandeur d’ Honneur De L’Ordre Du Bontemps Du Medoc.
Justin lives on the vineyard with his wife, Deborah: their children Evan and Morgane, and their dogs Sunny, Churchill and Francois. In addition to the vineyards, winery, and tasting room, they own and operate the highly acclaimed country inn, The JUST Inn, and its intimate gourmet restaurant, Deborah's Room, also on the property.
To reach Justin Baldwin, Justin@JUSTINwine.com
Deborah Baldwin
Co-Proprietor
Deborah Baldwin, a former mortgage banker, founded JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery with husband, Justin, in 1981 with the purchase of 160 acres of land in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, 15 miles West of Paso Robles, California.
Deborah's experience in sales and marketing during her professional career has been a natural foundation for promoting the JUSTIN brand throughout the wine and food industries. Luckily, the job of promoting their winery has not been difficult, due to the various honors JUSTIN Winery has enjoyed over the last 25 years. Deborah has served on the Wine Institute’s Central Coast Winery Board; she was elected to the Winery Board of Directors of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance in November of 2003 and currently serves on the marketing committee. For their contributions Deborah and Justin have been named the Paso Robles Wine Industry “Persons of the Year.”
In addition to handling the marketing for JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery, Deborah is the General Manager and driving force for their well-known and highly acclaimed country inn, the JUST Inn. She is also responsible for the Central Coast’s only winery restaurant, aptly named "Deborah's Room." Under her guidance, their executive chef produces world class California and French cuisine for JUST Inn guests and to the public seven nights a week. In addition, Deborah is instrumental in creating the JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery Guest Chef Dinner Series, bringing the most highly acclaimed chefs in the world to the property for special events five times a year.
Justin and Deborah believe it is imperative and a natural that food and JUSTIN wines go together. JUSTIN is the only winery on California's Central Coast to retain a full-time chef whose kitchen works daily to pair acclaimed JUSTIN wines with fresh seasonal and vineyard grown offerings. JUSTIN is one of the very few wineries anywhere to employ a Master Sommelier for educational services on the road and evaluation assistance at the winery.
Deborah’s outgoing personality, professional marketing experience and sincere regard for the wine, food and hospitality industries are all part of the sound base with which she promotes JUSTIN Winery and the entire Paso Robles Wine Community, as a whole, while traveling around the country and at home.
Philanthropy is an important part of the Baldwins’ lives, as evidenced by the more than 400 non-profit charitable entities that benefit from JUSTIN donations each year. Honoring their commitment to the well being of others, Deborah, with husband, Justin, received the American Cancer Society’s Gold Coast Evening of Distinction Honoree Award in the fall of 2007.
Deborah lives a very full and enriched life on the vineyard with her husband Justin, their two children Evan and Morgane, and their three dogs, Sunny, Churchill and Francois.
To reach Deborah Baldwin, deborahbaldwin@JUSTINwine.com
Fred Holloway
Vice President, Director of Production & Winemaking
Fred has been a successful winemaker for more than 28 years. He has worked with big, medium and small wineries, Mom and Pop to corporate, from hands on experience to supervising over 800 people. He believes that "truly great wines come from the people you work with." His career began on the Central Coast shortly after receiving his Enology degree from Fresno State University. Until the mid 1990's he worked in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties initially building a small boutique winery and then supervising production at one of the largest wineries in the state. Subsequently, he moved to the North Coast where he collaborated in producing the award winning Artisan Series for the Jess Jackson Family of Wines. There from 1996 -1998, he worked with the brand winemakers of Lokoya, Cardinale, Verite, Stonestreet, Hartford Court, La Crema, Robert Pepi and Edmeades in consistently producing 19 wines rated 90-95 by Robert M. Parker Jr. and 15 wines scoring 90-98 by the Wine Spectator.
He returned to the Central Coast in 1999 as Winemaker at Cambria Winery. There he continued to distinguish himself with high recognition from industry pundits. Parker rated 5 of his wines 90-93 and Wine and Spirits Magazine placed him on their list of Estate Wineries of the Year naming 2 of his wines to their Top Ten wines of the Year list.
"The Central Coast has long been a breeding ground for excellence in winemaking. We were pleased that we did not have to go outside to attract such a highly talented and experienced individual," said Deborah Baldwin co-proprietor for JUSTIN.
Justin Baldwin, co-proprietor of JUSTIN Winery states that, "Fred brings a wealth of experience in both winemaking and management. Each are vitally important to our continued growth as we reach for new heights in our industry."
To reach Fred Holloway, fred@JUSTINwine.com
Cheryl Wieczorek
Vice President, Director of Finance & Human Resources
Cheryl Wieczorek joined our team in the beginning of 1998 as our first "Controller". She came to us with extensive experience as a corporate controller with an emphasis in manufacturing and cost accounting. Cheryl is a CPA and worked for a large regional firm in Long Beach.
Cheryl traded her city lifestyle for country living with her husband and her furry-four-on-the-floor children, (two horses, two dogs and two kitties). When not working on the financial end of our business, she can be found riding through the trails of Paso Robles. We are ecstatic to have Cheryl's experience and cheerful disposition working on our behalf.
To reach Cheryl Wieczorek, cherylw@JUSTINwine.com
Jason Shorrock
Vice President, Director of Sales & Marketing
Jason, a graduate from Texas Tech University, began his career with JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery in the Summer of 2010. He brings a wealth of experience to JUSTIN, most notably from the LVMH Group (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton), the world’s largest luxury consumer goods company. There Jason worked at Moet Hennessy USA as Major Market Director in California, Hawaii, Colorado and Texas responsible for brands ranging from Dom Perignon to Casa Lapostolle Wines. Prior to LVMH, Jason was South Central US Region Manager for Foster Wine Estates in Texas and was the owner of his own wine brokerage company. He started his wine career at E & J Gallo as a distributor sales rep rising to District Sales manager at Glazer’s Wholesale Company, Texas. Jason is responsible for all Sales and Marketing activities for JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery worldwide.
Jason is from the UK by birth and is a first-generation immigrant to the US moving to Texas in 1974 and continuing to spend summers in Sussex, England until 1984. Jason moved to Paso Robles from Orange County, California with his lovely wife and four wonderful children. He loves the outdoors including camping with his family, as well as attending his kid’s sporting activities and golfing whenever possible.
To reach Jason Shorrock, jason@JUSTINwine.com