Hey Everybody!
My name is Shauna and I’m the winemaker for Caro Nonno Wines. Starting my own wine label is something I have wanted to do for a long time and I’m so excited that this dream is becoming reality. I graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Viticulture & Enology in 2015. While I was at Davis, I spent a lot of time getting hands on experience in the fields. I worked at the Student Farm on campus and was able to help maintain a small vineyard there. I gained a huge amount of respect for the industry and the work that goes into producing fruit. After working at the Student Farm, I got a job at the Foundation Plant Services, which focuses on isolating and eliminating disease in vines, and working to propagate a library of healthy and disease free plants for the future. I was lucky to have incredible teachers at these jobs who opened my eyes to the science behind agriculture. After my junior year at UC Davis, I worked a harvest internship at St. Jorge in Lodi. I remember leaving work covered in grape juice and wine, with sticky hair and purple hands and having the best feeling after a hard earned day.
Looking back, I am so grateful and blessed to have had so many people willing to teach me. Their knowledge and experience fueled my passion and desire to learn as much as I could. Some of my favorite days at Davis were Saturday mornings in the fall...a cup of coffee in hand, walking through the school vineyards studying the leaves and clusters of every different grape variety for Dr. Walker’s VEN 101 class. Days like that made me very excited for a future in the wine industry.
After graduation, I moved to the Napa Valley and did a harvest internship at Somerston Wine Company. I was hired on full time as a cellar worker, and later became the Enologist there. I was so blessed to be working at such a beautiful place with incredible people who were so willing to help me grow in this industry. My label, Caro Nonno, is inspired by my Italian American (and Irish!) roots. My heritage has led me to believe that wine is good for the soul, that it brings people together and that it works to celebrate the best parts of life. I’m so excited to share my wine with you and I hope you enjoy it!