Karl Giguiere

Karl Giguiere was born in Washington state, but grew up on the family farm right here in the Dunnigan Hills. He attended Esparto High School and graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in Accounting. A short stint in a large CPA firm convinced him that his heart was in farming and he returned home to take over management of Giguiere Ranch in 1973. Not content with the area’s traditional dryland wheat and sheep farming, he was the first to drill wells and plant vineyards in the area, which lead to the creation of R.H. Phillips Winery in 1983. For the next 22 years, Karl continued to innovate new farming techniques in harvesting, trellising and irrigation while growing the company’s vineyard operation from 10 acres and 1 employee to 2800 acres and a full complement of viticulturists. He retired from R.H. Phillips in 2005 to concentrate on managing the Giguiere Family’s vineyards and olive orchards