Sonoma County’s Ernest Vineyards picks former Williams Selyem exec as new president

Mark Malpiede has been hired as president of Ernest Vineyards, a Windsor-based winery founded in 2012.

“I have enjoyed serving on the board of directors for the Sonoma County Vintners with Mark for a few years and sought him out to understand if he’d be interested in joining us at Ernest Vineyards,” said Erin Brooks, who co-founded the winery with Todd Gottula, in the announcement. “He brings deep industry knowledge and a long history of successfully leading a business. His expertise in DTC is incredibly valuable and I look forward to working with him as we write the next chapter for Ernest Vineyards.”

Malpiede had been vice president of sales and marketing for Williams Selyem Winery in Healdsburg for 16 years.

Ernest stated it began developing an additional 14 planted acres in the western Sonoma County community of Freestone and purchased a vineyard in Occidental, thereby doubling the estate production for the brand.