FRESNO, June 30, 2020 – Emilio Miranda, viticulturist and grower relations representative for Allied Grape Growers (AGG), retired today after four decades in the wine industry.
Miranda started with AGG in 2004 after working for Constellation Brands from 1997 to 2004 and Paul Masson Vineyards from 1977 to 1997. For AGG members, he provided support, kept them informed about effective viticultural practices and handled harvest scheduling in the Central Valley.
Throughout his career, Miranda served on numerous industry boards and committees, including the California Winegrape Inspection Advisory Board, California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Central California Winegrowers (now San Joaquin Valley Winegrowers Association), American Vineyard Foundation, National Grape & Wine Initiative (now National Grape Research Alliance) and Fresno State Vineyard Evaluation Team. He attended Fresno State from 1973 to 1978 majoring in plant science.
“I have experienced and appreciated the wine industry from numerous job positions, including vineyard supervisor, cellar supervisor, harvest manager, viticulturist and fieldman. Above all, my most cherished time of year was harvest and bringing in the crop,” Miranda said. “Allied’s strength is helping to keep grape growers economically sustainable, and I was proud to be a part of a successful and hard-working team for the past 16 years.”
AGG President Jeff Bitter said, “Emilio’s wealth of knowledge accumulated over 44 years in this ever-changing business has been invaluable to AGG. He brought great and diverse perspective to AGG that will be greatly missed, as all of his prior experience was on the winery side of the business. As our viticulturist, he served our growers well. More importantly, he was a friend to all of us.”