Tercero Wines - Larry Schaffer

Tercero wines is the brainchild of Larry Schaffer, owner and winemaker. He began the brand shortly after graduating with his Masters Degree in Viticulture and Enology from UC Davis – but this was well after he had completely switched directions in life and charted a new and exciting path.

Larry started his college career at UC Davis as an undergraduate, but had no interest in wine. He transferred to UC Berkeley and received his BS in Business Administration from the Haas School of business. His first job out of school was in the music industry as he envisioned himself getting into the artist management and/or marketing side of music (he took pictures of punk bands in the LA music scene during high school). That never fully materialized and he switched directions, getting into the sales and marketing of educational products for teachers, eventually helping to create new markets for these products. He then went into the trade publishing field, working for a pop-up book publisher. He really enjoyed what he did – for awhile – but eventually felt that he was not being challenged intellectually at all.

The idea of getting into wine was something he had considered in the past – but more on the sales and marketing side because of his background. Science was not something he was comfortable with or felt he could do very well – but as most of you know, winemaking involves lots of science. He therefore took the challenge on, taking basic science classes at community colleges with kids who literally could have been his kids, before transferring back to UC Davis to get his master’s degree.

After graduating with his degree, he joined the winemaking team at Fess Parker Winery, where he stayed for nearly a decade before it was time to branch off and concentrate 100% on his own brand – and he could not be happier today.

Larry is adept not only at winemaking but at explaining the process in a very user-friendly manner. Visit his tasting room or follow him on social media to see for yourself.