Our People
"It takes a dedicated team to make it work."
Production:
Fred Holloway
Vice President, Director of Production & Winemaking
Fred has been a successful winemaker for more than 28 years. He has worked with big, medium and small wineries, Mom and Pop to corporate, from hands on experience to supervising over 800 people. He believes that "truly great wines come from the people you work with." His career began on the Central Coast shortly after receiving his Enology degree from Fresno State University. Until the mid 1990's he worked in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties initially building a small boutique winery and then supervising production at one of the largest wineries in the state. Subsequently, he moved to the North Coast where he collaborated in producing the award winning Artisan Series for the Jess Jackson Family of Wines. There from 1996 -1998, he worked with the brand winemakers of Lokoya, Cardinale, Verite, Stonestreet, Hartford Court, La Crema, Robert Pepi and Edmeades in consistantly producing 19 wines rated 90-95 by Robert M. Parker Jr. and 15 wines scoring 90-98 by the Wine Spectator.
He returned to the Central Coast in 1999 as Winemaker at Cambria Winery. There he continued to distinguish himself with high recognition from industry pundits. Parker rated 5 of his wines 90-93 and Wine and Spirits Magazine placed him on their list of Estate Wineries of the Year naming 2 of his wines to their Top Ten wines of the Year list.
"The Central Coast has long been a breeding ground for excellence in winemaking. We were pleased that we did not have to go outside to attract such a highly talented and experienced individual," said Deborah Baldwin co-proprietor for JUSTIN.
Justin Baldwin, co-proprietor of JUSTIN Winery states that, "Fred brings a wealth of experience in both winemaking and management. Each are vitally important to our continued growth as we reach for new heights in our industry."
To reach Fred Holloway, fred@JUSTINwine.com
Kevin Sass
Winemaker
Kevin Sass is a Southern California native growing up in Agoura Hills. Kevin graduated from California State University, Fresno with a double major in Enology Wine Production and Agricultural Business in spring of the year 2000. "I feel fortunate to have graduated from such a dedicated hands on University. Fresno State built a solid winemaking base which allowed me to concentrate and learn more about how quality grapes make quality wine." He then joined the JUSTIN team as an intern for the 2000 harvest working to gain experience in the industry and was subsequently hired on the following January (2001) to oversee all Grower relations and help in the winery. During Kevin's time as the Grower Relations Manager he worked closely with all JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery growers and interacted with many industry consultants.
In January of 2002 Kevin was promoted to Associate Winemaker-managing all day-to-day operations at the winery, vineyard activities and assisting the current grower relations manager with all growers properties. In January of 2006 he was honored to receive the title of Winemaker and we are thrilled to have him as part of our team.
To reach Kevin Sass, sasskevin@JUSTINwine.com
Paul Kaselionis
Grower Relations & Estate Vineyard Manager
Paulius (“Paul”) Kaselionis joined the JUSTIN Team in June of 2008. He grew up in Tustin, just 20 minutes from Disneyland and moved to the Central Coast after graduating from high school. While living in San Luis Obispo from 1994 to 2003, Paul watched the region grow into one of the largest wine regions in California.
In 2003, Paul graduated from Cal Poly with a BS in Agribusiness Marketing and a Minor in Wine & Viticulture. The hands-on approach emphasized by Cal Poly helped him develop a love for the local vineyards. While attending Cal Poly, Paul worked for two years as a Production Assistant/Tasting Room Associate for Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande and concurrently worked for Crop Care, a vineyard consulting company, as a Field Technician. While working for Crop Care, Paul visited numerous Central Coast vineyards from Santa Ynez to San Miguel every week.
After graduation, Paul continued on his northbound journey to Sonoma County where he accepted a Viticulture position with Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery. While in Sonoma County, he married his college sweetheart, and now is the happy father of two young daughters.
While at Ferrari-Carano, Paul was responsible for managing 800 olive trees and producing extra virgin olive oil, releasing beneficial insects into the vineyards to prey on mites, gathering field samples and collecting data, monitoring insects and fungus, collecting soil moisture readings, assisting in grower relations for over 50 growers, observing the 1400 acres of estate property in three counties, and being an active member of the viticulture community through various groups and programs.
Paul and his wife are excited to be “coming home.” They’ve seen San Luis Obispo County grow and have family in the area. They love the people, the topography, and the many different areas of the Central Coast. They can’t wait to start raising their family and are excited about becoming a part of the JUSTIN Family.
To reach Paul Kaselionis, paul@JUSTINwine.com
Matt Locklin
Production Assistant
Matt Locklin joined the JUSTIN team in April of 2008. He grew up in the small, but constantly growing, wine region of Temecula Valley in Southern California. As a highly recruited football player, Matt made the decision to attend the University of California, Davis because of its outstanding academics and football program. Upon making the decision to attend UC Davis, Matt had no idea what path he wanted to follow in academics. Family led him to believe that engineering was the way to go. Fortunately for Matt, while playing a round of golf in his hometown with his dad (Matt is an avid golfer as well), they were paired up with a former winery owner from Temecula Valley, and after a few hours of conversation, Matt walked away knowing that his future was in winemaking.
Matt went on to play four seasons of football at UC Davis, and graduated in the fall of 2006 with a degree in Viticulture and Enology. Due to long summers of football training, Matt was unable to apply his skills and knowledge in wineries during the harvest season. Because of this, he decided to take advantage of the situation after graduation, and he traveled the world making wine. His first stop was at Stags’ Leap Winery in Napa, CA, where he was able to work with some of the best wines in the world. After finishing at Stags’ Leap Winery, he went on to work at Kim Crawford Wines in Blenheim, New Zealand. After a fast paced life in New Zealand, Matt ventured off to Tuscany, Italy to work in a small family operation in the town of Certaldo in the Tuscan hillside. This large diversity of winemaking experience has ultimately led Matt back to California where he plans to continue his career in winemaking. The decision to join the team at JUSTIN was made in part because of the excellent staff, beautiful facilities, and the fantastic wines that are being produced here, as well as the amazing opportunity to become familiar with another wine region of the world.
To reach Matt Locklin, matt@JUSTINwine.com
David Baird
Production Assistant
David grew up in Carmel, California. He is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. While majoring in Agricultural Business, David decided to minor in Viticulture and Enology. Harvests internships at Edna Valley Vineyards in San Luis Obispo and Halter Ranch nearby in Paso Robles, solidified his passion and determination to live a life of wine. Shortly after graduation Davd became a full time member of the JUSTIN family. He assists our winemaking team in all aspects of production, including packaging, cellar work, filtration and vineyard sampling. When not getting dirty in the cellar, David enjoys camping, photography, good food and good wine.
To reach David Baird, david@JUSTINwine.com
Cobey Rubbo
Lab Director/Cellar
Bio soon to follow....
To reach Cobey Rubbo, cobey@justinwine.com
Raul Sanchez
Warehouse Supervisor
Raul began his career at JUSTIN as a harvest intern and gradually worked his way up into the Warehouse Supervisor position he holds today. In 2009, Raul’s workload increased substantially as he facilitated the move into our new warehouse building in Paso Robles. In addition to maintaining the warehouse, processing daily shipments, and performing essential tasks during wine club shipments and bottling, Raul also took on the responsibility of filling wholesale orders. Even with the added workload, Raul has continued to deliver high quality work with an exceptionally positive attitude. It is his attitude and strong work ethic that make Raul such an asset to the JUSTIN team.
Raul's hobbies consist of fishing, playing pool, movies and of course wine.
To reach Raul Sanchez, raul@justinwine.com
Eraclio Luviano
Cellar Worker
Gonzalo Luviano
Cellar Worker
Ricardo Luviano
Cellar Worker
Valeriano Nevarez
Estate Vineyard
Doug Todaro
Maintenance-Warehouse
Doug Todaro joined the JUSTIN team in April 2005. Born in New Jersey and raised in Simi Valley, California the strong family values and small town feel that Paso had to offer was soon home to Doug and his family. Bringing an extensive background in construction to JUSTIN, Doug can be found either pouring concrete, overseeing new construction or JUST hanging a picture!
In his spare time Doug and his two daughters can be found riding their horses in the beautiful hills of the Central Coast.
To reach Doug Todaro, doug@justinwine.com
Steve Pollard
Maintenance
Steve Pollard was born in Whittier, California and moved around a lot as a child before moving to Fresno to attend college. After college, he settled in Cayucos, California. For the past 15 years, Steve has worked in the construction industry and specialized in conducting building maintenance for companies located along California’s Central Coast. He is also well versed in welding and air conditioning systems, so the next time you visit JUSTIN on a hot summer day, thank Steve for keeping the tasting room cool and pleasant! In his free time, Steve enjoys building and riding Harleys, traveling around the country and barbecuing with his family.
To reach Steve Pollard, pollard@justinwine.com
Johnny Sandoval
Landscaping/Groundskeeping Maintenance
Johnny was born & raised in Venice, CA. He started working at JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery in 2006, before he worked in Family Landscape business as we as with a pool company & pest control business. Johnny enjoys riding motocycles, water skiing and mostly enjoys spending time with his wife, three sons and grandson.
To reach Johnny Sandoval, johnny@justinwine.com