Hall of Fame Inductee and Scholarship Award Recipients

Hall of Fame Inductee

The Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association (TVWA) introduced the first TVWA Hall of Fame inductees at the 31st Annual Grape Day conference on April 21, 2016 at South Coast Winery in Temecula, California. Induction into the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Hall of Fame is granted to individuals who are no longer active in the Industry and who’ve made extraordinary contributions to furthering the reputation and prestige of the Temecula Valley appellation and its wines.

John and Martha Culbertson were recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at the 38th Annual Grape Day Conference held in April. The Culbertson’s founded Culbertson Winery in the 1980s (now known as Thornton Winery). The winery was very successful and produced some amazing sparking wines. At the time, their winemaker Jon McPherson, now the winemaker at South Coast Winery Resort & Spa and Carter Estate, made delicious wines that received many accolades. At one point in time, the Culbertson’s had the opportunity to serve their sparkling wine at two White House State dinners in the late 1980s, and became the official wine for the American Orient Express Train.

Hall of Fame Scholarship Recipients

The Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association is proud to honor and recognize the children of our vineyard and winery employees. In 2023, the Association announced its Hall of Fame Scholarship Program. This scholarship program was available to 2023 graduating high school seniors whose parents or guardians were employed by a TVWA vineyard or winery. Scholarships were awarded based on academic excellence, financial need, & community involvement. We’re excited to announce that we’ve awarded two high school students with a $5,000 award each to apply to their four-year college tuition and expenses. Congratulations to Peyton Hahn and Sarah Wilson for being this year’s scholarship awardees.