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 Since their first visit to California's wine country, the McWilliams family of Texarkana, Texas, has dreamed of a future here in Sonoma County. In 1996, Al McWilliams - an orthodontist - took the first step in making their dream a reality. Joining his brother-in-law, John Copeland, the two purchased a family vineyard estate, Pine Mountain Vineyards in Cloverdale. Then in 2004, Al and his wife, Janis Copeland McWilliams, acquired 36 acres of prime agricultural benchland on scenic Westside Road in Healdsburg. This Russian River Valley will be the home of Arista Winery and its estate Pinot Noir Vineyards, as well as a residence for the McWilliams family. |
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 Mark McWilliams, born and raised in Texarkana, Texas, has been involved in the Arista winery and vineyard operations of Sonoma County for the past 10 years. After graduating from the University of Texas - Austin with a degree in Corporate Communications, Mark took his first job out of college working for Kendall Jackson Wine Estates. What started as a temporary summer job developed into a passion as Mark enrolled in UC Davis Wine and Viticulture courses, tasting groups, and annoyed his winemaker friends with endless questions. During his time with Kendall Jackson, Mark held various positions encompassing vineyard operations, harvest logistics, and cellar work. 2003 proved to be a significant year in Mark's life. His family started Arista Winery, a boutique Russian River Valley Pinot Noir producer based in Healdsburg, California. In the fall of 2003 Mark moved back to Texas and married Jennifer Habecker, a native of Dallas. Over the next year and half, Mark continued his passion for wine and pursuit of industry knowledge by working as a wine consultant for Republic Beverage, a large wine and spirits distributor based in Dallas, Texas. Having gained first hand knowledge of the inter-workings of the wine business - from vineyard, to winery, to the wine store shelf - Mark was positioned to take the information learned and apply it to his family's winery and the development of estate vineyards in the Russian River Valley. In the Spring of 2005 Mark and his wife Jennifer moved back to California to run the day to day operations of the tasting room and production facility. They currently live in Healdsburg, California with their Maltese "Lucy", a cute and popular face in the Arista tasting room. |