Jeff Crawford is a seasoned winemaker for Starmont Winery based in Napa Valley. In 2007, he started with Merryvale Vineyards in the cellar of the newly built Starmont Winery located on the historic Stanly Ranch in Napa Carneros. Within 7 years Jeff advanced through various positions to become the Starmont Winemaker in 2014. He is currently leading the winemaking operations, managing all vineyards sourced from grower partners, and producing critically acclaimed wines from cool climate vineyards throughout the North Coast and Central Coast of California.

Jeff was born in Alaska, grew up in Minnesota and moved to Hawaii fleeing the bitter upper mid-west cold. It was in Hawaii Jeff was introduced to the world of fine wine through a group of wine lovers and collectors. His burgeoning enthusiasm inspired him to move to Sonoma County to pursue a university degree while experimenting with amateur winemaking under the mentorship of a close Winemaker friend.  After earning his degree from UC Davis in 2004, Jeff worked his first professional harvest that year and was hooked! 

Jeff believes in holistic vineyard management and his winemaking philosophy is based on embracing typicity, achieving balance, and providing freshness. He lives in Napa with his wife, Olga, who is also a Winemaker and holds the prestigious Master of Wine title.  When he is not in the winery or the vineyards, Jeff enjoys growing vegetables and raising chickens in the backyard, roasting coffee, sourdough bread baking, and the pursuit of continued wine knowledge through studies and travel to wine regions of the world.