Richard Rorden, Winemaker & Director of Operations

The mind and skills of an engineer, computer wizardry, and a knack for creating great wine make Richard Rorden, co-founder of Cantiga Wineworks, the company's ideal Winemaker and Director of Operations.

Rich grew up in Menlo Park, California, in a winemaking family. Some of his earliest memories are of handpicking grapes for the family's annual pressing, and crushing them by foot in an old tub. Rich embarked on his first entrepreneurial venture following high school, when he and a partner built a successful construction business, M&R Builders. He soon began attending Foothill Junior College in the evenings, taking courses in electronics, while continuing to work as a carpenter during the day. In 1988, Rich moved to San Luis Obispo to attend California Polytechnic State University. He graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of

Science in Mechanical Engineering, and began working for TRW, Space Division, located in Redondo Beach, California. In just five years, Rich climbed to the position of Senior Engineer at TRW.

Despite his success in his field, however, Rich began feeling a call to return to entrepreneurship. His longtime dream of opening a commercial winery began to unfold as he and his wife, Christine, started to explore the possibility of this exciting career and lifestyle change. The two attended business classes and engaged in intensive independent study in winemaking, small business management, and marketing. They formed Cantiga Wineworks, LLC in May 2000 and then brought the company through its first round of production that fall.

As a key player in the Cantiga Wineworks venture, Rich brings to the company his past entrepreneurial experiences, his knowledge of winemaking, a good dose of perfectionism, and his technical talents and skills as an engineer and builder. In addition to heading up the wine production, he will be designing the company's computer database, maintaining the network, and implementing some of his designs for equipment that will improve the winemaking process.

Christine Rorden, Winemaker & Director of Marketing

How would one combine a passion for the arts, a fascination with winemaking and a talent for making monumental projects happen? The answer to this question, for Christine Rorden, lies in the vision of Cantiga Wineworks. Co-founder of Cantiga Wineworks, Christine serves as the company's Director of Marketing.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Christine has made a lifelong study of music, the arts, and world cultures. She received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto in 1993, where she specialized in historical musicology and early music performance. Christine then moved to Los Angeles to pursue graduate work in ethnomusicology at UCLA. She completed her Master's degree in 1996, and went on to work as a performing musician, editor and writer, and arts presenter. Her arts presentation experience includes scheduling musical performances at the Skirball Cultural Center, in Los Angeles. As an editor and writer Christine has developed arts-integrated school curriculum for the Galef Institute, a non-profit, educational reform organization.

When Christine met Rich in 1994, she eagerly became involved in the family's wine operation. Her love of wine and desire to open a winery dates back to her years in Toronto, when she regularly visited the wineries of the Niagara Region. Discovering their shared dream, Rich and Christine decided to put their careers on the backburner in favor of this exciting new venture.

Christine's multifaceted set of skills and interests will help shape the venture into the unique business the team envisions. Her primary responsibilities will include managing sales and marketing efforts, building and maintaining the website, producing the quarterly newsletter, and scheduling programs and special events.