Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Vincent.
Hi Matthew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in a small town in central Kansas called Lyons, but my “adult” life story really started when I left home for college. The start of that journey brought me to Ft. Scott Kansas where I played collegiate football for the FSCC Greyhounds as a Punter. In my opinion, this is the best position to occupy in all of football. You get to watch most of the game and rarely get hit! After Junior college ball I was fortunate enough to have earned a scholarship to play for the MWSU Griffons up in St. Joseph, Missouri. There, I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Sports and Recreation Management and a Minor in General Business. The plan was to work my way into a career in collegiate athletic administration (something I grew up loving-Sports), but my senior year of college came with a lot of second guessing as I had so many interests that I wanted to explore. Agriculture was one of them. After working several months post-graduation, my fiancé (now wife) and I had saved up enough money to take a summer trip to Europe. We spent six weeks split between stops in Iceland, England, Germany, Greece, Italy, and France. Aside from this trip being a once-in-a-lifetime experience with my future wife, I came away with a newfound respect and deep interest in small business and local produce, especially in Crete, Greece. Everything was locally made and sourced. Seeing the olive and citrus groves as well as the vineyards across the Greek landscape is a backdrop that is burned in my memory. This place changed what I wanted to do with my life. Upon our return, I went to work in an accounts receivable position as a billing specialist. This was short lived, as I was looking for something else, and as luck would have it, I found that opportunity through a college friend of mine who introduced me to the then owners of Jowler Creek Winery. At first, I was working predominantly in the vineyard as an intern, but when the company sold a few months later the opportunity to make this a career really presented itself when I was offered the Vineyard Manager and Assistant Winemaker position. This made the career official for me. At that time, I had acquired all the basic vineyard management and winemaking knowledge from reading multiple books, taking online courses and reaching out to industry professionals, as well as trial by fire in many cases. It has truly been self-study profession for me and still is to this day. After departing Jowler Creek I was offered a job on the winemaking team at Amigoni Urban Winery in the West Bottoms district of Kansas City. I had known the owner Michael Amigoni for a few years prior to joining. I spent a year there making amazing wines from several grape varietals out of California and Washington. The experience I gained in completing a fine wine elevage was invaluable, as was the experience of assisting in the management of the barrel-aging program. The current team and ownership there are dear friends who all played essential parts in my development as a wine professional (Michael & Kerry Amigoni, and John Mcvarish (current Winemaker). I can’t thank them enough for bringing me on. While working at Amigoni I was offered an opportunity at younger winery in Excelsior Springs, MO. During this time, I was lucky enough to attend several wine-related classes at The University of Missouri, as well as learn from and consult with nationally renowned viticulture expert Fritz Westover. This same year came with the birth of my first child, a baby girl. She and her momma are my world, and I am blessed to have their support in all my career and life decisions. During the summer of 2025 I landed the Head Viticulturist position at TerraVox Winery up near Platte City/ Weston. The whole summer and fall have been a wonderful employment experience. We specialize in growing grapes from predominately American cultivars (native grapes). We have over 60 different varieties on site, 27 of which we produce commercial wine from. The others are used in experimentation and research, so it is a very challenging and rewarding project to be a part of. TerraVox holds true American-agricultural significance, as we keep the story of many of these grape cultivars alive. It has been extremely gratifying to be a part of such a noble cause and wonderful team. I can’t wait to see what the future holds! All things considered, the enology and viticulture profession has taught me a lot about life and how we adapt to the world around us as the vintages can change day by day. The vineyard itself has been an extremely effective channel for self-reflection and personal examination. You can learn a lot about yourself while training plants, fighting nature, and weathering the elements in order to make something that other people will enjoy. Each bottle produced is a microcosm of an entire year’s worth of work, patience, determination, sacrifice, and passion.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t believe anyone encounters a perfectly smooth road in any significant endeavor. Aside from becoming a husband and father, the significant endeavor, related to my profession, has been in finding “my approach”. In the past 6 years I have devoted most of my waking moments to thinking about the processes and philosophies surrounding both vine and wine. The two major sides of the industry deal with growing grapes (viticulture) and making wine (enology). Both sides have endless amounts of professional opinions and scientific findings to sift through pertaining to how grapes should be grown and how great wine should be produced. One expert says this; another says the opposite and on and on it goes. It is not always an exact science. There is a great amount of personal artistry involved as well. On top of that, each separate wine maker/ vineyard manager/ winery owner has to marry those scientific, research-based findings with their own “personal approach” and philosophies. Finding the balance between these three aspects (scientific, artisanal, and philosophical) has been the most rewarding yet formidable challenge that comes to mind when reviewing my grape-growing and winemaking career. It has kept my mind busy.
Aside from that, the Missouri wine industry offers limited opportunities, so maintaining a reputation for a strong work ethic and for specialized oenological and viticultural expertise has been critical. I have found that, in the workforce, most of us face similar day-to-day challenges, many of which extend into our personal lives. One example for me was the invasive hip surgery I underwent in 2023, that sidelined me for a period-of-time. With vineyard work being so physically demanding, I wrestled with whether I should remain in the industry or pursue something less taxing. Ultimately, I pushed through- and I’m grateful I did. My hip feels great now, and I have made several ergonomic improvements to my daily routines that protect my long-term health and benefit the business.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I currently work as a Viticulturist at TerraVox Winery in Kansas City. The winery is located between Parkville and Weston. My responsibilities there are to grow, maintain, harvest and sometimes establish new vines. The project can be reviewed in depth on our website, but as a short overview our proprietor became a caretaker of some of the most uncommon and rare grape varieties in America. Ironically, most of the varieties are indigenous to America but history has overshadowed them with more popular cultivars from Europe. Our goal is to reintroduce these unique grapes to the market and showcase the diversity of wines that they can produce. Within the industry I am probably most known for my attention to detail, cleanliness and organization. I have a very high personal standard that helps to keep me motivated. Within this line of work, I am most proud of the relationships I have made. Second to that, there has been the professional confidence I have gained without having a formal degree in this field. I have been able to use my knowledge and hands on experience to produce a product to the same standards as that of someone with a PHD in the field. I think a lot of my career success can be dedicated to my work ethic and passion. It is hard to beat passion.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in a neighborhood of older kids. I always wanted to hang-out with my older brother, Michael. Obviously that came with some harsh realities at first. The older boys always beat me at everything. We played a lot of sports, so I naturally became ultra-competitive. I wanted to play with the older kids, especially in basketball (my first love). It didn’t take long for my tenacity to kick in and help propel me to their level on the athletic courts and fields. In some recreational sports I played two years above my own age division, which dramatically increased my inner competitiveness because I sat on the bench most of the time, which made me practice more intensely to earn more playing time. I was heavily involved in wrestling, basketball, football and summer baseball. Most of that translated into involvement in high school sports where I was a three-sport athlete. Academics were a high priority for my parents, so I always maintained good grades. During my Junior and Senior years of high school I got more involved in the arts. I sang tenor in the “elite choir group’, played in the band (percussion), was a small part in a play, competed nationally in forensics (speech and duo acting) and really enjoyed ceramics and woodshop. Working with my hands, and combining that with creativity, has always been where I lose track of time. My endeavors in the vineyard and wine industry have been a culmination of skills that I started developing at a very young age and continue to develop today. I owe many family members, teachers, mentors and friends a thank you for their love, wisdom, help and inspiration.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.terravox.wine/story/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-vincent-05a071197
Image Credits
N. Kiloh Photography
