flavors
From th e
stars TO THE VINEYARD By PAWAN NAIDU
T
ierra Luna Cellars is the culmination of the eventful life of astronaut and former Congressional candidate Jose Hernandez. Born into a migrant farm working family from Mexico, Hernandez, who didn’t learn English until he was 12 years old, spent much of his childhood on what he calls the California circuit, traveling with his family from Mexico to California’s southern San Joaquin Valley each March, then working their way northward to the Stockton area by summer, picking strawberries, cucumbers, cherries, tomatoes and grapes along the way. In late November, they would return to Mexico spending Christmas and waiting for March to start the cycle all over again. “Through all of this, my parents stayed strong and focused on their children’s education, which allowed
Through all of this, my parents stayed strong and focused on their children’s education which allowed me to dream of one day reaching the stars. me to dream of one day reaching the stars,” said Hernandez. “Determined to fulfill my dream, I obtained my undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering.” Hernandez joined NASA in 2000 and was selected as part of the 19th class of the U.S. Astronauts in 2004. On Aug. 28, 2009, Hernandez, assigned to the STS-128 Space Shuttle Discovery mission as the flight engineer, realized his main dream of
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reaching for the stars by blasting off into space on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. Hernandez left NASA after 12 years of service and decided to come home and raise his family near his parents, who live in Lodi, and start the next chapter in his life. “I was able to focus on and realize my next big dream, which was to one day own my own vineyard and produce my own wine,” said Hernandez This is how Tierra Luna Cellars was born. Today, Hernandez along with the help of his father, Salvador, own and farm a small vineyard north of Lodi and produce their own line of wines. Hernandez’s view of the constellations from space inspired the naming scheme for his wines. The winery has two red wines to offer, Stella Roja and Stella Z, and one white wine, Nova Stella. ●
F E B R UA RY/MA R C H 2022
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