Le Vigne
Michael Barreto was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hanford California, located in California’s San Joaquin Valley. After graduating from CSU Fresno with a degree in Agricultural Business he began working in the fresh produce industry working in various aspects of the industry from sales and farming analysis to sales he then moved into the accounting side of the business. It was this well rounded view of the business that led him to begin working for a software development company that created a computerized accounting system custom written for the produce industry. Michael was in charge of implementing the accounting software at the client sites, which meant traveling to many regions rich in agriculture a lot of these areas were acclaimed for the wines that they produced as well as their fresh crops.
It was during these travels that he expanded his knowledge of wine and acquired the desire to work in the industry. In 1997 he went back to Fresno to study enology and winery management, also during this time he took a variety of winemaking classes offered through the UC Davis extension program. Explaining that he only wanted to make wine at home to see the process all the way through on his own, he made his first barrel of wine at home in 1999. It was not long after, that he began exploring options to begin working in the industry. Michael and his wife Joey moved to the Central Coast in August of 2001 and he began working at Courtside Cellars, a large custom crush facility located in San Miguel. Beginning by working in the cellar, he then was transferred into the laboratory by the middle of harvest.
Beginning in 2002 Michael began making wines for his brand, Barreto Cellars at what is now Le Vigne winery in Paso Robles. The wines that he makes for Barreto Cellars feature grape varieties that are native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Tempranillo is the main grape variety produced other varieties include traditional Port grape varieties such as Touriga Nacional and Souzao. A white grape variety commonly found in Madiera wines, Verdelho, is also produced. To put his unique mark on the wines he creates foot trodden “Port Style” wines to round out his portfolio.
Michael was offered the opportunity to begin working at Le Vigne Winery in 2003 as assistant winemaker where he has helped winemaker Jac Jacobs elevate the quality and reputation of the wines produced by Le Vigne Winery to where it is today.
