The Man & His Craft: Kirk P. Venge

As Proprietor and Winemaker for Marauder wines, Kirk Venge is the visionary behind the founding of our purpose.

Born in 1976 in Rutherford, California, Kirk’s earliest memories are tractor rides through vineyards and dragging hoses through the family’s winery. What started as an environment of play, quickly became the inspiration for a career in winemaking. Kirk’s induction into the family business was brisk and early, indeed, by the time he was a teenager, he was running harvest crews and processing grapes for his family’s winery.

Just as he pursued sweat equity education in the business in his youth, he pursued the mastery of his craft through education in the esteemed viticulture and oenology programs at UC Davis. Upon completion of his degree, Kirk Venge travelled as any journeyman winemaker, experiencing harvest abroad only to return to take over winemaking for his family’s namesake winery, Venge Vineyards. Nearly ten years passed before destiny came knocking with an opportunity to purchase the family winery outright and follow his own path to winemaking enlightenment.

Today, Kirk Venge owns Venge Vineyards & Winery, Croix Estate, Marauder Wines, and is consulting winemaker for Promise Wines, Renteria Family Wines, Beau Vigne Vineyards, B Cellars, Hunnicutt, Jax Vineyards, Macaulley Vineyard, Trespass Vineyard, and 11:11 Winery, with many an independent vintner knocking on his door.

"I have always sought the unconventional path in my craft. Perhaps my want for exploration can be traced to my Scandinavian bloodline and the ancestral lineage of fearless frontiersmen. Marauder charters the unknown course in winemaking, breaking the mold of tradition, producing bold, uncommon wines "