Our Team

Charlie

Charlie Jensen is the Director of Sales & Marketing for Spence Vineyards. He grew up in a suburb of Kansas City where he learned to love the Chiefs, Royals, and of course, the best BBQ in the world. During his final semester at the University of Missouri (Go Tigers), Charlie was preparing to begin a position with William Morris Agency, which he hoped would be the beginning of a career in the music industry. After covid-19 wrecked those plans, Charlie decided to try something that no one had ever tried before – following a girl to California!

Upon his arrival in Napa Valley, Charlie spent 2.5 years working as the Estate Host at Hill Family Estate’s private winery location in Yountville. Although working in the wine industry was an unexpected twist for Charlie, he quickly found a new and surprising passion for wine, hospitality, and all things Napa Valley. After 2.5 years working for and learning from the Hill Family, Charlie joined Spence Vineyards in January of 2024 to help grow the business. Charlie lives in St. Helena with his fiancé Keeley and spends his free time playing his guitar, hiking, skiing, golfing, and exploring their new home in Northern California.

Keeley

Keeley Spence grew up in St. Louis, where she learned to live and breathe everything St. Louis Cardinals, Blues, and Missouri Tigers. After attending the University of Missouri, she had plans to pursue a career in special education, but the universe decided she would be taking a different path. When Keeley’s dream of teaching was interrupted by covid-19, she decided to head west and work for her family business for a short time. Little did she know, this would be the beginning of a new chapter not only for herself, but for Spence Vineyards as well.

Keeley works part time at Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena where she helps run their “Old Winery & Cave” hospitality program. When she’s not dazzling guests at Beringer, she is helping with all things Spence Vineyards. Keeley lives in St. Helena with her fiancé Charlie and spends her free time doing Yoga, playing bocce, skiing, golfing, and trying to convince Charlie to get a dog.

Ted Osborne

Ted Osborne started in the wine business back in 1995 at Cakebread Cellars. Having a ravenous appetite to learn the art of winemaking while getting his hands dirty, Osborne began a journey that would take him around the world to work in top winemaking regions. He traveled to places like Australia, South Africa, and Bordeaux, France to gather knowledge and experience about the trade.

In the winter of 2000, Osborne returned from France and was brought on board at Storybook Mountain in Napa to help with their burgeoning Cabernet program. Once word got out of his success, in 2004, the Pina brothers hired him to make their vineyard designate Napa Cabernet Sauvignons. This further success led to offers to make wines for some of the most distinctive boutique wineries in Northern California.

At SPENCE, Ted focuses on vineyard-defined wines made with minimal intervention to bring out the character of our vineyard in a balanced, elegant, and unique fashion.

Jon Jones

His college degree was in Music, but Jon often says that his way of winemaking takes music theory specifically into account: harmony, balance, the right mix of top notes sliding along on a steady rhythm. Of course there’s a tight horn section and a strong bass groove. Can you dig it?

Jon’s journey to becoming a winemaker started on a little side trip to the Napa Valley during his college days. A memorable night with friends began raiding a wine cellar and ended swigging a choice vintage of Opus One straight from the bottle. The bar was set, his passion was realized, and now with 23 years of wine work under his belt, his winemaking style is well-developed.

Jon cut his teeth in enology at a few big wineries (Robert Mondavi, Merryvale, Opus One), then moved from the lab to the cellar making wine at a few smaller wineries (Adobe Road and Lava Vine). Jon now works as a Associate Winemaker at Spence Vineyards alongside Ted and they definitely make a great team.