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Today, GM Matt is in charge of the brand, while wife Nicole
oversees the wine club and acts as compliance manager. A version
of Pomar Junction's first vintage, a Cabernet Sauvignon, was
consumed at their wedding a year after they started producing
wines. Matt's parents, founders and owners Dana and Marsha
Merrill, are very much active not only with Pomar Junction, but
in and around the local wine industry and community—Dana
has chaired the California Association of Winegrape Growers as
a representative of Paso Robles, served two terms on the Paso
Robles Wine Country Alliance and Monterey County Vintners and
Growers Association boards, and was honored as the 2012 Paso
Robles Wine Industry person of the year. Bruce Jordan manages
the vineyard, while head winemaker Jim Shumate teaches at
the Cal Poly Wine and Viticulture Department, where he piloted
winemaking and the transition to a new state of the art facility at
the university set to open in 2020.
TOP: The Cabernet Sauvignon vines pictured on the morning of their harvest.
Pomar Junction is full of majestic views.
Photograph by Matt Merrill
RIGHT: The Merrill Family (L to R) Matt Merrill, Ethan Merrill, Nicole Merrill,
Eleanor Merrill, Marsha Merrill, Dana Merrill
Photograph by Allyson Magda
