“Every year, the Sonoma County Harvest Fair’s Wine Competition receives more than 1,000 entries from wineries in the region. Since 1985, Bob Fraser has been rounding up the panels of palates—aka, the judges—for this auspicious event. He’s owner of winejudging.com (founded in 2000 with his brother Scott), SRJC’s Agriculture Business and Wine Studies program coordinator and executive director of the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
“I actually look at my work with both competitions as professional industry improvement, making me a better administrator and instructor,” he says of the balancing act it must entail. “Fortunately, the bulk of my busy time with the Chronicle Competition occurs during my Christmas break from the college. Likewise, the planning of the Harvest Fair competition is during the summer months. I’ve also been fortunate to have the support of the SRJC president and board. The college has always encouraged instructors to get out into their industries and network in our areas of expertise.”
Are you a North Bay native?
Although the North Bay has been my home for nearly 30 years, I grew up on a diversified farm in Clarksburg, a Sacramento River Delta community. My grandfather was among a cluster of farmers who founded the community and raised asparagus. Later, my father and uncle joined my grandfather and expanded acreage in growing corn, milo, wheat, alfalfa, safflower, carrot seed, walnuts, tomatoes, and sugar beets. Even though I enjoyed working on the ranch, after college, I decided to become a vocational agriculture teacher and leave the farming to my brother. My father and brother continue farming in Clarksburg.
What did you want to be when you were 10 years old?
Playing in forts on our ranch with my cousin at that time, my future was the last thing I was thinking about.
What got you interested in the wine industry?
It really was reacting, at the college level, to Sonoma County’s transition into growing more wine grapes and the proliferation of wineries over the last three decades. AT SRJC, we realized the employment opportunities in the wine area were growing for our students, and we needed a certificate and major program in wine studies. At that time, we had only the traditional programs such as agriculture business, viticulture, animal science, horticulture, natural resources and such. We went to work building the new curriculum, submitted the new program to the California Chancellors Office and became the first standalone program in wine studies in the United States.
Would you describe yourself as more of a thinker or a feeler?
Neither: I’m more of a doer.
How did you meet your spouse or best friend?
My younger sister, Kathy, was only one year after me at Cal Poly. She asked me over to her dorm room to meet her new quad mate, Cary. Thirty-nine years later, Cary and I are still in love, while Cary and Kathy remain best friends.
How would you describe the perfect day?
A run, coffee, newspaper and solitude in the early morning; a productive, stimulating and fun day at work; recreation and relaxation in the late afternoon; and evening with friends and family. It can’t be better.
If you could have a dinner party with three people from history, who would you choose? What wine would you serve?
Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. I’d serve a Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast or Carneros Pinot Noir to blow Jefferson’s socks off.
What do you love to do outside of work?
I enjoy being with my family as much as possible. I have some fruit trees and vegetable gardens to keep me busy, and I enjoy some occasional golf. When I have actual “free time,” it has to be reading a good novel or having a bike ride with my wife… Oops, better reverse those two.
If you were to be executed in the morning, what would your last meal be?
My mother’s lemon meringue pie.
What simple thing do most Americans need to know about wine that they don’t?
That the more you drink wine, the less you’ll realize you know about wine. The day you think you’re a wine expert is the day you should retire your wine glass.
