Jessup Cellars Company Culture

Every company has a culture, whether specifically defined or simply a reflection of the owner’s personality. In any case, a Company Culture is the underlying set of values, goals, and attitudes shared by every organization member. Elements are reflected in how people feel about their work, what they believe in, where they see a company going, and ways to get there.

A positive company culture generates more enthusiastic participation, greater commitment to producing high-quality products, creativity and innovation, and an enhanced commitment to satisfying each customer.

How Jessup Cellars Creates and Sustains Its Positive Culture

When the founding partners created Jessup Cellars, one of the best wineries in Yountville, their mission was to produce ultra-premium wines and create an enriching experience for their members and guests. Their plan also included giving back to the community in various ways.

To this end, Jessup Cellars has built the reputation of being one of the “friendliest tasting rooms in Napa Valley” and has established their Yountville winery as a vital contributor to the community.

However, no organization can execute such lofty objectives without establishing foundational guidance built on positive company values.

Jessup Cellars’ values are reviewed and reaffirmed yearly during their annual company retreats. Here Team Members discuss the values in the context of present-day challenges while brainstorming ideas for innovation and initiatives to enhance the culture, products, and services to provide more value to their customers.

Building Company Values

The foundation upon which any company’s culture is created starts with embracing carefully crafted Vision and Mission Statements.

These elements focus the entire Yountville winery team on common goals around which the company culture can develop. Here are the results:

Jessup Cellars VISION

“To be the #1 customer experience winery in the world.”

Jessup Cellars Mission Statement

The Team’s efforts will focus on delivering experiences articulated in the Mission Statement. That is:

“To deliver “INNOVATIVE” and “WOW” experiences by empowering one another to make deep, lasting connections and to explore every idea through the lens of a trailblazer.”

Core Values: How Will We Act While Achieving Our Mission?

Our Core Values:

• Uniquely Us!
• Connection
• Collective Joy

Our Transformative Values:

• Pursuit of Excellence
• Empowerment
• Communication
• Accountability
• Innovation

 

Making It Happen

Success in any business is based upon the efforts of the Team as a whole. However, as in many situations, the actions and innovations of specific individuals tend to stand out while pursuing the company’s objectives.

During the past year, two Jessup Cellars associates have shown significant initiative in advancing Jessup Cellars’ success, company culture, and community standing. Both individuals’ leadership development and deployment of Company Values and ideas emanating from our Annual Retreats have demonstrated their commitment and led to promotions.

These outstanding Jessup Cellars partners are:

• Carlos Marquez, Yountville Tasting Room Manager
• Zack Scott, Cellar Master for Jessup Cellars and Handwritten Wines

Carlos Marquez, Jessup Cellars Tasting Room Manager

The following is a recent interview with Carlos Marquez that demonstrates his commitment to the company’s success and clear expression of the elements of the Jessup Cellar Company Culture:

What do you love about working for this company?

“It’s just a great work family, and that’s exactly how we are made to feel- like family. Everyone genuinely cares for one another, which isn’t always so easy to find in the workplace.”

Can you tell us more about specific things in the work environment that have allowed you to thrive?

“Although standards and guidelines have been set, they kind of let us do our own thing, giving each of us the autonomy to work in a style we’re individually comfortable with. Leadership allows us to be ourselves, they don’t expect us to follow some kind of set script for customer interaction – instead, we’re free to be our authentic selves.”

Talk about your career development since you began in a supporting role back in 2017, to becoming Tasting Room Manager in the Spring of 2022. What have you learned?

“The biggest thing I have learned is to have the courage to try new things and that you don’t have to be afraid of making mistakes if you have a great team that always has your back. Then you can learn new things without fearing failure, instead focusing on gradually improving. That’s the best part of working on a team that truly supports you.”

Zack Scott, Cellar Master for Jessup Cellars and Handwritten Wines

Executive Winemaker for the Good Life Collective, Rob Lloyd, offered these observations about the many contributions of Zack Scott, Cellar Master:

“Zack has been with us since the 2012 harvest, working his way up through the cellar, learning from myself and Assistant Winemaker Bernardo Munoz. We are the first and only winery he has ever worked for, so it’s especially rewarding to see his development, starting at the bottom learning everything step-by-step, and now helping Bernardo run the Cellar with Zack’s promotion this year to Cellar Master.

He has continued to learn, gradually taking on more responsibilities on the production team with each passing harvest season, and ten years with us learning to make both Jessup Cellars and Handwritten wines in our signature style has culminated in his current status at the Good Life Wine Collective. It’s really great to see how far he has come.”

Excellent teamwork and a clear commitment to learning demonstrate Zack’s dedication to the Jessup Cellars Mission Statement.

Maintaining the Company Culture: Tracy McArdle, General Manager

Instilling and maintaining a compelling company culture from day-to-day throughout an organization demands thoughtful oversight.

For Jessup Cellars, a premier Yountville winery, this responsibility is managed admirably by General Manager Tracy McArdle. Her role is to foster those company values while executing strategic company plans, many of which were created from ideas from the annual retreats.

Has Tracy been successful in her quest? It would appear that she has since the Yountville Chamber of Commerce recently awarded her the 2022 Business Leader of the Year!

And most importantly, the entire Team at Jessup Cellars, a highly focused Yountville Winery, is continually raising its reputation by generating ever higher levels of customer satisfaction.