Alan Peirson

Viticulturist

Alan Peirson thinks about vineyards the way a sculptor thinks about stone: you’re not imposing a form, you’re uncovering one that was always there.

He came to viticulture through an unconventional path — Art History, ceramics, landscape design — before spending twenty years helping build what became the Peter Michael Winery estate from the ground up. That work taught him that a great vineyard program is architectural in nature: every decision about rootstock selection, row orientation, canopy management, and harvest timing is a structural choice that echoes forward for decades. At O’Shaughnessy, Alan oversees three vineyard sites that require three entirely different approaches. The deep alluvial soils of Oakville, the rocky volcanic tuff of Howell Mountain, the wind-exposed schist ridges of Mount Veeder — these are not variations on a theme. They are fundamentally distinct conversations between vine and soil, and Alan attends to each one on its own terms.

“The vine tells you what it needs, if you’re willing to listen closely enough.” — Alan