Napa winery appoints assistant winemaker

Rachael Froehlich is joining RD Winery in the Napa Valley as assistant winemaker and production manager.

“Rachael is a driven, passionate winemaker, whose talents are only growing. I’m so glad to have her join the RD Winery team,” says Mailynh Phan, RD Winery CEO. “Much has changed since we opened our tasting room in 2020 and started officially sharing our wines in the U.S. market. Rachael’s dynamic experience and skillset lend themselves beautifully to our approach of bringing community into everything we do.”

Most recently, Froehlich worked as the assistant winemaker at Roche Winery in Sonoma and later as the assistant winemaker at Ca’ Momi Winery in Napa.

Other experience includes working as a cellar hand, lab technician, harvest enologist and assistant winemaker, at wineries from New Zealand and Australia, to Sonoma and Napa. She holds a WSET Level 3 Certification in wine, as well as the Wine Business Management Certification from Sonoma State University, where she is currently pursuing her MBA, the winery stated.

“I’m intrigued by all of the styles that RD Winery and its collective members produce, and I enjoy the creativity in helping make both RD’s wines and those made through custom crush,” says Froehlich. “I’m excited about having this more hands-on role, and hope to use my future MBA to grow the program.”

Founded in 2012 by Dong Van Nguyen, RD is the first Vietnamese-owned winery in Napa, RD Winery’s two brands are Hundred Knot, which includes the winery’s high-end Khoai tier, and Fifth Moon.

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