Premiere Napa Valley Live Auction

Janet Myers

Winemaker, Franciscan Estate

Traveling a wine road wasn’t Janet Myers’ original path. In what now seems like another life, she gave up her pursuit of a doctorate in Biological Anthropology to move to London, where she worked in the restaurant industry. Living above a wine shop, she enjoyed sampling the wares of her downstairs neighbor and decided to learn about wine production. “When I realized that this was an industry that combined science and agriculture—which is my family’s background—I enrolled at UC Davis and haven’t looked back.”

The first harvest Janet worked was at the Robert Mondavi Winery in the Napa Valley. After graduating from UC Davis with a Master’s in Enology, Janet gave in to wanderlust. Wanting to connect to her roots by spending time in Italy (her mother’s ancestral home country), Janet turned to the Antinori winemaker in Italy, who immediately offered her a harvest internship at the Santa Cristina Estate in Chianti.

Before coming to Franciscan Estate in August of 2003 as associate winemaker, Janet also enjoyed stints in Australia’s Margaret River region and at big Cabernet producers Beaulieu Vineyard, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Louis Martini. Janet was promoted to director of winemaking for Franciscan Estate in August 2005.

Country born: United States

Education: Masters in Enology from UC Davis
Internships at Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa, Antinori in Chianti, and in Australia's Margaret River Region.

Years in the wine industry: 15-20 years

Winemaking Philosophy:
Janet's winemaking philosophy is ultimately to showcase and highlight the flavors and personality of the vineyard she's working with. Her goal is to let the fruit shine, to let the vineyard be what it wants to be - while balancing ripeness of fruit with age-worthiness, and richness of texture with finesse.

Janet Myers

Winemaker, Mount Veeder Winery

Traveling a wine road wasn’t Janet Myers’ original path. In what now seems like another life, she gave up her pursuit of a doctorate in Biological Anthropology to move to London, where she worked in the restaurant industry. Living above a wine shop, she enjoyed sampling the wares of her downstairs neighbor and decided to learn about wine production. “When I realized that this was an industry that combined science and agriculture—which is my family’s background—I enrolled at UC Davis and haven’t looked back.”

The first harvest Janet worked was at the Robert Mondavi Winery in the Napa Valley. After graduating from UC Davis with a Master’s in Enology, Janet gave in to wanderlust. Wanting to connect to her roots by spending time in Italy (her mother’s ancestral home country), Janet turned to the Antinori winemaker in Italy, who immediately offered her a harvest internship at the Santa Cristina Estate in Chianti.

Country born: United States

Education: Masters in Enology from UC Davis

Internships at Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa, Antinori in Chianti, and in Australia's Margaret River Region.

Years in the wine industry: 15-20 years

Winemaking Philosophy:
Janet's winemaking philosophy is ultimately to showcase and highlight the flavors and personality of the vineyard she's working with. Her goal is to let the fruit shine, to let the vineyard be what it wants to be - while balancing ripeness of fruit with age-worthiness, and richness of texture with finesse.

Nova Cadamatre

Winemaker, Mount Veeder Winery

Nova Cadamatre graduated from Cornell University in 2006 with one of the first viticulture degrees from the university’s newly instated Viticulture and Enology program. After graduation she moved to California, where she honed her winemaking skills under the tutelage of Ed Killian at Chateau Souverain. As a longtime champion of Sonoma’s single varietal wines, Ed became an impactful mentor to Nova, providing opportunities to explore, challenge herself, and learn from other winemaking icons like Margo Van Staaveren at Chateau St. Jean and Laurie Hook at Beringer Vineyards.

In 2013, Nova joined the winemaking team at Robert Mondavi Winery. She worked with Director of Winemaking Genevieve Janssens on three vintages of red wines, including those made from the historic To Kalon Vineyard. In 2015, Nova transitioned to become Director of Winemaking at Constellation Brands’ Canandaigua Wine Company in upstate New York, where she oversaw the production of several brands, including 240 Days, small-lot wines from the up-and-coming Finger Lakes region. In July of 2018, Nova was tapped to return to Napa Valley as Senior Director of Winemaking for Constellation’s Napa Valley brands.

When not in the cellar or vineyards, Nova was diligently working towards earning one of the most difficult wine certifications in the world, a Master of Wine degree from the Institute of the Masters of Wine in London. In 2017 Nova earned the title of Master of Wine, becoming the first female winemaker in the United States to achieve this feat.

Country born: United States

Education: Master of Wine (2017), WSET Diploma (2010), WSET Advanced (2007)

Years in the wine industry: 10-15 years

Honors / Awards:
WSET Outstanding Alumni Award Nominee (2018), Taransaud Award for Excellence in the Production and Handling of Wine (2017), Wine Enthusiast Top 40 under 40 (2014)

Winemaking Philosophy:
Focus on quality and do nothing to sacrifice that.