Dolce Winemaker Greg Allen set out to earn a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and spent a number of years pursuing this goal, but the lure of making wine – Dolce in particular – eventually won his loyalty.

A San Diego, California native, Allen graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from San Diego State University in 1992 and began working at California’s Mare Island Naval Shipyard as an engineer for the Department of Defense. While working at Mare Island, Allen lived in the town of Napa, and experienced his first visit to a winery. He noticed the bottling line and realized that mechanical engineering had some involvement in the wine industry. The seed was planted, but would take several years to germinate.

About four months later the Navy closed Mare Island, so Allen enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Graduate School of Mechanical Engineering to pursue a Masters degree. A lab colleague, fellow California native and wine enthusiast regularly shared wines over lunch with Allen, and told him about the Enology program at the University of California at Davis. One particularly dreary day during that year’s harsh Boston winter motivated Allen to contact the school and make an appointment to visit over spring break.

The visit to UC Davis in 1995 furthered Allen’s desire to study winemaking, and the trip resulted in an invitation to serve as a harvest intern that fall with Far Niente. Allen declined in order to finish his Masters program, but he won an internship with Far Niente the following year. A temporary position with Franciscan Winery and internships with two Australian wineries followed.

Still undecided about which career path to follow, Allen took research positions first at MIT and then at a highly regarded biomechanics lab in Bern, Switzerland, and studied the causes of cartilage injury and its implications towards arthritis. After two years, it became clear that the wine industry was where he belonged.

"I realized that I continued to dream about making wine and never once did I dream about cartilage," says Allen, confirming his decision to pursue a winemaking career.

In January 2000, Allen was hired as a cellar worker at Far Niente, and soon moved into the lab as staff enologist. That fall, he transferred to the newly created position of assistant winemaker for Dolce and was promoted to winemaker in February 2001.

"I feel like Dolce is the perfect wine for me to make. My background in mechanical engineering required patience and the ability to focus on one narrow subject and all of its intricacies. Though the specific challenges of making a single late harvest wine are inherently different, the task of meeting these challenges is familiar," says Allen.

A resident of Napa, Allen obtained his Master of Science degree in Enology at UC Davis in Fall of 2004.