Hunter Emch

Vineyard Manager

Hunter entered the wine industry by way of coffee, when he found himself working at Whole Foods in the specialty department and learning more about wine and cheese than coffee. He soon was in charge of purchasing wine for the store before he was legally allowed to drink it. Hunter was approached by a local winemaker and taught about winemaking at Grace Estate as the assistant winemaker for half a year until he moved to work at Michael Shaps Wineworks in 2015. For a couple years, he worked in the cellar and as the bottling assistant. In 2017, Hunter took the vineyard management position at Afton Mountain Vineyards and worked closely with their winemaker to learn the basics of the vines, sustainable farming, and grape growing practices. In 2019, Hunter came back to Michael Shaps Wineworks as the vineyard manager, where he continues to learn and develop his understanding of the vineyard, and looks forward to being a part of the vintages to come!