Vintner Ulises Valdez known as much for his kindness as his chardonnay

Ulises Valdez was renowned as much for as his heart as for his highly sought grapes and wines.

Valdez’s love of the soil and of family and work fueled his rise from an undocumented, teenage farm laborer to a celebrated vineyard manager tending grapes for the likes of Paul Hobbs, Kent Rosenblum, Mark Aubert and Kosta Browne. He was among California’s most sought-after vineyard managers when he founded Valdez Family Winery in Cloverdale.

“I’m really happy,” Valdez said eight years ago on the occasion of his Silver Eagle Vineyard Chardonnay being poured at the White House dinner hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama in honor of visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

“I am rich,” he said. “And some day I’ll have money.”

Valdez prized the most his wife and their four children, and his gratitude.

“I love this country!” he said in 2015. “Here, if you can work hard, if you can save, and if you’re good to people, you can do anything.”

His trademarks included the ever-present straw cowboy hat on his head, his superpowered drive for excellence and the caring he exhibited for other human beings.

Winemaker Hobbs wrote of him, “Ulises was one of the most gifted, knowledgeable and intuitive vineyard managers in California.

“His understanding of the entire (Sonoma County) growing region and its diverse topography and soils was breathtaking to behold, but he was very down to earth when sharing his knowledge.”

Hobbs has known many winegrowers, but only one did this:

“Ulises would phone me up early in the morning over the years - oftentimes at 6:30 a.m. - simply to say, ‘It’s a beautiful day. Calling to wish you a great day, Paul!’?”

Valdez viewed Sonoma County and its universally savored grapes and wines from the perspective of an immigrant from Michoacán who came to Dry Creek Valley at age 16 to work the vineyards.

He once recalled, “As soon as I had learned a little English I would speak to the vineyard owners myself.” There began the process of discovery of what fine vines and soil and human relationships could yield.

Valdez used sweat equity to buy into the Florence Vineyard Management Co., later buying it outright. His Valdez & Sons Vineyard Management Inc. grew to farm more than 1,000 acres of grapes.

Always seeking new challenges, Valdez released his first Valdez Family Wine in 2004, and six years later he and his family opened their winery.

The crush was on when Valdez collapsed and died from heart failure on Sept. 12. He was 49.