Tom Gamble Named the Napa County Farm Bureau's Agriculturalist of the Year for 2026
The third-generation Oakville farmer received the honor Saturday at the Love of the Land dinner, 17 years after his father George won the same award. No family had seen father and son both receive it before.
NAPA: Tom Gamble, who founded Gamble Estates two decades ago on land his family has farmed since 1916, has been named the Napa County Farm Bureau's 2026 Agriculturalist of the Year. He received the award on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the bureau's annual Love of the Land dinner.
The honor runs in the family. Gamble's father, George Gamble, a cattle rancher from the Berryessa area, received the same award in 2009. This year's selection makes the Gambles the first family in the award's history to see a father and a son both receive it, according to the announcement.
In a statement issued with the announcement, Gamble pointed to his 45 years of farming in Napa County and to his father's example, and said the recognition by the people he has farmed alongside meant a great deal to him.
A father in 2009, a son in 2026: a first for the Farm Bureau award.
Farming since 1916
The family's farming in Napa County dates to 1916. Tom Gamble grew up working the family's walnuts, alfalfa and cattle, and he was still a UC Davis student in 1981 when he took a partner's stake in his first vineyard. In 1999, he and his brother Jim started Napa Free Range Beef, among the county's earliest grass-finished beef ventures. In 2005, Gamble and his wife, Colette, launched the winery today known as Gamble Estates.
The winery owns 175 acres across Oakville, Rutherford, Mount Veeder and Yountville, farmed as CCOF-certified organic. Gamble also co-manages the family ranch and leased vineyards with his cousin Launce Gamble.
Two decades of farm advocacy
Gamble spent close to 20 years on the bureau's board and led it as both president and vice president. His conservation work includes the Napa River Restoration Project, the Fish Friendly Farming program and the 2008 Napa County General Plan. In 2026 he was also elected to the board of the Napa Valley Vintners.
The bureau says it represents more than 1,200 members, and the award recipient is selected by its membership of growers, ranchers, cultivators and educators. At the same dinner, the bureau named Manuel Rios its 2026 Farm Bureau Member of the Year.
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