GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Innovate with Nature
The Vintners Institute Guild creates a safe-space to explore outside-the-box, environmentally regenerative solutions without fear of judgement or bias. The Guild's collective applied research platform puts viticulturists and winemakers in the driver seat when it comes to prioritizing and executing applied research. Guild trials are controlled, production-scale experiments that are prioritized, carried out and evaluated by wine industry producers.
Educate the Workforce
Vintners Institute Academy offers online entry-level training courses in Pure Winegrowing in English and Spanish. Each of our four core courses serve as primers in their respective functional areas within the winery vineyard, cellar and tasting room.
Inspire Leadership
The Vintners Institute is a conduit for change that enables top industry thinkers to amplify their learnings from vintage to vintage. The Vintners Institute Guild supports exploration of solutions that work in harmony with nature to make better wine and inspire a new generation of wine drinkers.
APPLIED RESEARCH & Academic Standards COMITTEE (COMING SOON)
North Coast Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Coast Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Coast Winegrower
Northwest Winegrower
Central Valley Winegrower
Central Coast Winegrower
International Journalist
International Journalist
International Journalist
Academic Advisor
International Journalist
International Journalist
Workforce Advisor
International Journalist
Organic Trade Advisor
Organic Trade Advisor
International Journalist
Organic Trade Advisor
Business advisors
Mark Neal • Pure Winegrowing Advisor
Pam Strayer • Biodynamic/Regenerative Organic Communications Advisor
Pam Strayer • Biodynamic/Regenerative Organic Communications Advisor
Mark Neal is an organic and biodynamic farmer and winemaking evangelist. He has been walking the vineyards almost daily for over 54 years and is one of very few winemakers in Napa Valley who own, farm and manage their land and make their own wines. Mark also runs Jack Neal and Son (JNS) Vineyard Management, the business he entered to assi
Mark Neal is an organic and biodynamic farmer and winemaking evangelist. He has been walking the vineyards almost daily for over 54 years and is one of very few winemakers in Napa Valley who own, farm and manage their land and make their own wines. Mark also runs Jack Neal and Son (JNS) Vineyard Management, the business he entered to assist his father in 1968. With 420 employees, JNS is the largest organic farming company in Napa and one of the largest biodynamic farming companies in the country, effectively making Mark Neal one of Napa Valley’s most influential grape growers.
Mark’s passion for farming and winemaking started in 1966, when he began as a grower working alongside his parents on their Rutherford farm. His love of the land, working with family, and producing incredible wines was instilled early by his father. This upbringing inspired him, in 1998, to build Neal Family Vineyards. Today, Mark works with his wife, Laura, and several of his children as he handcrafts exquisite and complex Cabernet Sauvignon from his estate-certified organic vineyards in Howell Mountain and Rutherford.
Pam Strayer • Biodynamic/Regenerative Organic Communications Advisor
Pam Strayer • Biodynamic/Regenerative Organic Communications Advisor
Pam Strayer • Biodynamic/Regenerative Organic Communications Advisor
A journalist with wide-ranging interests, Pam covers business, wine trends, climate, the environment and other topics in the wine industry.
She is also a subject matter expert on U.S. organic and biodynamic wines and wineries, which she writes about for other wine publications.
For consumers, she edits and writes for Slow Wine Guide USA,
A journalist with wide-ranging interests, Pam covers business, wine trends, climate, the environment and other topics in the wine industry.
She is also a subject matter expert on U.S. organic and biodynamic wines and wineries, which she writes about for other wine publications.
For consumers, she edits and writes for Slow Wine Guide USA, a book that features 400 eco-friendly, organic and biodynamic wineries. Other consumer outlets she writes for include Full Pour, Pix.wine, Voices (from Maze Row Merchants) and Sante.
A long time health editor and journalist, she has also written for The Guardian and The New Lede, focusing on science, health and climate.
Meet the Founders
Bryan Avila • Co-Founder • CEO
Lauren Mitchell (Nahas), PhD • Co-Founder • CIO
Lauren Mitchell (Nahas), PhD • Co-Founder • CIO
Bryan Avila is a formally trained enologist, seasoned commercial winemaker, ACUE Credentialed Educator and Co-Founder of the Vintners Institute. The Vintners Institute is a grassroots, next-gen effort to bring wine industry producers and allies together, online and in-person, to Innovate with Nature, Educate the workforce, and Inspire good leaders. Semper Fi.
Lauren Mitchell (Nahas), PhD • Co-Founder • CIO
Lauren Mitchell (Nahas), PhD • Co-Founder • CIO
Lauren Mitchell (Nahas), PhD • Co-Founder • CIO
Lauren has been teaching and designing learning experiences for 18 years, mostly in the California Community Colleges. In 2012, she completed her PhD in English at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on education, technology, and digital literacy. Her doctoral work sparked her passion for creative use of technology in t
Lauren has been teaching and designing learning experiences for 18 years, mostly in the California Community Colleges. In 2012, she completed her PhD in English at the University of Texas at Austin, where she focused on education, technology, and digital literacy. Her doctoral work sparked her passion for creative use of technology in the classroom and for the power of online education to deliver transformative learning experiences to anyone, anywhere.