Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/918844
28 WINES&VINES January 2018 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS CALIFORNIA Vincent Indelicato dies at 84 Vincent Indelicato of Manteca, age 84, died Dec. 17 in Modesto, Calif. Indelicato spent his child- hood working in the Manteca cellars and vineyards of Delicato Family Vineyards, founded by his father and uncle in 1924. Vincent Indelicato and his brothers, Frank and Anthony, took over the fam- ily business in 1960. During his career, Indelicato held numerous roles in the family business, from the first sales position to president and CEO. He joined the company board in 1973 and continued to grow the company with his broth- ers. Before his passing, Indelicato served as chairman of the board for the company, which sells ap- proximately 10 million cases per year, including popular brands such as Gnarly Head, Noble Vines, Bota Box, Z. Alexander Brown and Black Stallion Estate Winery in Napa Valley. Laks retiring from Cakebread Julianne Laks, who has worked in winemaking at Napa Val- ley's Cakebread Cellars since 1986, is retiring from the post of winemaker and will be replaced by Stephanie Jacobs, who has been assistant winemaker since 2008. Laks joined Cakebread as assistant winemaker and was promoted to winemaker in 2002. Jacobs joined Cakebread Cellars in 2004, after earning a degree in viticulture and enology from the University of California, Davis, and working at Chalone Vineyard and Bogle Vineyards. She was named Pinot Noir project leader in 2012. Kistler to step down from winery Steve Kistler announced he is stepping down as chief executive officer and director of winemaking at Kistler Vineyards in Sebastopol after 39 years managing the winery he founded in 1978. Kistler said he will focus on winemaking at his family's Occidental brand, crafting site-specific Pinot Noir with his daughters, Catherine and Eliza- beth. In a statement announcing the transition, managing partner Bill Price said: "When I led a group of investors that eventually pur- chased a majority stake in Kistler in 2008, Steve and I planned out an orderly succession plan and brought in Jason Kesner nine years ago to begin an Old World-style apprenticeship at Steve's side." New CEO at St. Francis Rick Bonitati is the new chief executive officer of St. Francis Winery & Vineyards in Sonoma Valley and senior vice president of western operations for French American Vintners. Bonitati joins St. Francis with more than 30 years of wine industry experi- ence and most recently was chief operating officer at Paul Hobbs Wines. Robert Aldridge also was named vice president of finance for western operations of French Regional News Vincent Indelicato Rick Bonitati