Chemistries Impact on Wine Quality: Combating Smoke Taint in Recent Vintages.
By Jason Price, Head Winemaker, Robert Craig Winery, Angwin, CA 94508
Jason Price received his BS in Chemistry from Stevenson University in 1997. Immediately following graduation, he moved to Los Angeles, California and was hired by the Avient Corporation, formerly Polyone, as an R&D Chemist working to develop various Plastisol and Latex formulations used in the Roto-mold industry. Moving back East in 2001, Jason began working as a Chemistry Lab Technician for the Hope Creek Nuclear Power Generating Station in Hancock’s Bridge, NJ. Working as a Chemist in nuclear power is subject to rigorous procedural compliance and therefore effectively breeds an industry of competent scientists dedicated to public safety and sustained infrastructure. In 2006, during a visit to a small commercial Winery in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Jason struck up a conversation with the winemaker and talked his way into working part-time on his days off from the power plant. One year later, Jason ceremoniously left nuclear power to pursue a career in winemaking. After 3 years working in the cellar and vineyards in Pennsylvania, Jason moved back to California in 2009 to attend the prestigious University of California at Davis’s Viticulture and Enology program. After graduation, Jason continued to work in Napa Valley, eventually joining Robert Craig Winery as Assistant Winemaker in July 2015 and then promoted to Head Winemaker in 2019. Jason continues to guide the Robert Craig portfolio of wines using his Chemistry Education to optimize each wine’s potential.
