Keynote Presentation

Fermenting a ChemE degree into a Career

David will walk through his 25 year career in the wine industry highlighting the many ways that Chemical Engineering has been used in his career. While concepts such as separations, heat transfer, reaction kinetics, extraction, and bio-transformations play key roles in the industry, the ability to problem solve problems in a ChemE way has translated to sales, finance and management. David hopes to review the winemaking/spirits making processes to share the joy of the products that he has had making enjoyable beverages for the last 25 years. Along the way, he will also cover many lessons learned that are valuable for soon-to-be graduates.

David Warter graduated from Stanford University with a Chemical Engineering degree in 1998. After a season of professional rugby, David joined the E&J Gallo Winery in 1999 as a sales representative. In 2001, he moved to Modesto to become a process engineer for Gallo. In 2002, he returned to school where he earned both an MS in Viticulture and Enology and an MBA from the University of California, Davis in 2004. David then started with Gallo’s winemaking team after graduation. He has spent the last twenty years managing different roles in winemaking, research, wine supply and distillation.

Currently, David manages Gallo’s Central Valley and International winemaking teams and the Distillation team. The teams manage the liquid quality of over 120 million cases of product. For distillation, David has traveled around the US, Mexico and the Caribbean to make vodka, brandy, gin, tequila, rum and whiskey. His team is responsible for the quality of brands such as New Amsterdam Vodka and Gin as well as High Noon. In wine, his team makes iconic brands such as Apothic, Barefoot, Carlo Rossi, and La Marca.

Outside of work, David serves as Secretary for the Youth for Christ Mid-Central Valley Board, an organization serving families in Stanislaus, Merced, and Tuolumne Counties. David has been married to his wife, Erica, for 24 years. He loves to cheer on his two teenage children, Jared and Rachel, at their water polo, volleyball, and soccer games most weekends.