Judy Jordan’s second act: From vintner to mentor – Napa Valley Register

MIRA ADVANI HONEYCUTT

“There are no second acts in American lives,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote but that’s never been true. Take Judy Jordan who is elbow-deep in her second act.

With the launch of Geodesy Wines and WG Edge program, the vintner is fulfilling her long-held vision to dedicate her time and resources to empower the next generation of women in agriculture through a mentorship program.

Jordan, who grew up among the vines of her father’s Jordan Vineyards, went on to establish, at age 27, her own brand J Vineyards & Winery in Sonoma, which she sold to E&J Gallo in 2015. A year later she launched Geodesy Wines as a financial engine for WG Edge, a leadership program for young women in Napa and Sonoma, pursuing agriculture careers. WG stands for Women Gaining an Edge.

“So my next act has to do with supporting young women,” said Jordan in a phone conversation from Healdsburg. “Geodesy is a nod to terroir and the girls’ odyssey,” said Jordan, a trained geologist, educated at Stanford University.

To launch Geodesy, Jordan tapped Kathryn Lindstrom, who had worked with her at J Vineyards, as Geodesy’s general manager. 100 percent of proceeds from sales of Geodesy Wines fund the WG Edge program that provides scholarships to young women seeking careers in agriculture. Currently, there are nine women in the program.

The wines are produced by winemaker Megan Baccitich and winegrower Scott Zapotoky (the team previously worked at Paul Hobbs Winery). The 2017 vintages of the micro-lot production includes a chardonnay and pinot noir from Oregon and a Bordeaux-style blend from Napa.

Jordan and her team acquired esteemed vineyards in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills and Chehalem Mountains as well as Napa Valley’s Sage Ridge Vineyard. Superbly crafted, the small lots of wines reflect the true expression of the unique terroirs of these sites.

“We are both classically trained,” Jordan noted of Baccitich. “We take our love of terroir and push it beyond the comfort zone.”

The pinot noir is vibrant with pomegranate flavors on the palate, the chardonnay aromatic with pear notes and the cabernet sauvignon-dominant Bordeaux blend, luscious with blueberries and cassis backed with well-knit tannins.

Growing up in the wine industry Jordan fondly recalled the time when she was mentored by her father Tom Jordan “What I found along the way back then that it was predominantly a male leadership.”

From accounting and distribution to winemaking, the industry was male-dominated, she noted. “For 30 years, people who were my guides were wonderful men.”

Yet she does regret not having women mentors. Interestingly, over time at her J Winery, Jordan noticed that the winery staff gradually shifted predominantly to women. “That inspired me. In my next act, I had to do something [to help women even more].” It began with an internship program for women.

Cut to today where the WG Edge program partners with a local community college, Santa Rosa Junior College, and women vintners from Napa and Sonoma who inspire the young mentees while guiding and opening doors for them.

“We connect them with a village of women leaders,” said Jordan. “We want them to be dedicated and we ask them to be prepared to give back, so it creates an ongoing cycle.”

Jordan has corralled the support of such esteemed names as Gina Gallo, Anisya Fritz of Lynmar Estate Winery and Amelia Ceja of Ceja Vineyards among the mentors.

“Judy is using this phase of her life to bring young women to this program,” said Fritz in a phone conversation from her wine estate in Sebastopol. “I’m honored to be a part of it.”

Fritz, who teaches wine business entrepreneurship at Sonoma State, is also mentoring a young woman who is interested in horticulture at Lynmar Estate’s garden abundant with edible plantings of fruits and vegetables.

Ceja, who in her own right has been a visionary and a mentor to immigrant farmers in Napa/Sonoma, was a natural choice to join this program. “Judy reached out to me because I used to mentor at Sonoma State,” said Ceja in a phone conversation from her wine estate in Carneros. “Judy is such an incredible role model, going on her own path.”

As a mentor Ceja, the first Mexican-American woman ever to be president of a winery, empowers her mentees by sharing her immigrant stories and how she established her successful brand. The current pandemic landscape has created a challenge, she noted, “but we are doing our virtual activities and it’s incredibly rewarding.”

Jordan’s journey is just beginning as she envisions growth and expansion in the future. “We can get Geodesy so strong that proceeds can sustain the WG Edge program.” And she certainly sees potential for the program to be replicated in other wine regions through the U.S. “That would be a home run for us.”

WATCH NOW: 140,000 WOMEN LOST THEIR JOBS IN DECEMBER

CHECK OUT THE SNACK STATION THIS NAPA FAMILY MADE FOR DELIVERY DRIVERS AND ESSENTIAL WORKERS