Michael Costley

The Path

Training at University of Missouri-Columbia and California State University-Fresno came before a career built on hands-on work in both vineyard and cellar. That foundation was tested early and often. Michael Costley served as Harvest Intern at Chalk Hill Estate Winery (2009), Harvest Intern at Wither Hills Winery (2010), Harvest Winemaker at Zilzie Winey (2010), Viticulture Intern at Stagecoach Vineyards (2012), and Lab Intern at Cuvaison Estate Wines (2012), building the base that carried him into more senior responsibility. Those years shifted the work from theory to timing, repetition, and the practical discipline of tracking fruit, weather, and wine as they changed from day to day. He then became Assistant Winemaker at Far Niente Family of Wineries & Vineyards (2019–2022), where vineyard perspective and cellar execution continued to inform one another. That progression continued with Assistant Winemaker at Bella Union Winery (2022–2023), followed by On-Site Winemaker at Gandona (2023), each role adding another layer to an already versatile practice. Today, Michael is Winemaker and Vineyard Manager of Signorello Estate (since 2024), where the arc of his career comes into clear focus.

The Work Today

At Signorello Estate, the title brings together two parts of production: growing decisions and winemaking decisions. In practice, that means the vineyard and the cellar are not separate conversations. Choices made under open sky carry forward into tank and barrel, while decisions in the winery are shaped by what the vines have already given. The harvest call sits at the center of that work. It is the point where observation becomes action, when the signals of a season are weighed and turned into one consequential choice. For Michael Costley, that decision sits at the center of the craft, where timing, judgment, and experience meet.

In Their Words “Deciding when to pick is perhaps the most important decision we will make all year.” “I like to think of myself as a 'winegrower' rather than a viticulturist.”

Acclaim

The record here is one of vineyard work, viticulture, and winemaking, brought together in the 2024 appointment at Signorello Estate. The pattern across the career is continuity: building from the ground up and keeping vineyard and winery in the same line of sight.