Masterclass

Tesauro joined Barboursville Vineyards as National Brand Director & Chief Sommelier in 2002. By day, Jason is a writer/photojournalist with three books, four cameras, and five children. Author of The MODERN GENTLEMAN book series, he’s a three-time national award-winning culture and lifestyle journalistfor Esquire, Decanter, Travel+Leisure, The New York Times, and others. By night, Tesauro is an internationally-accomplished sommelier who has served as an ambassador for Virginia Wine since falling in love with a 1998 Barboursville Sangiovese. He lives Richmond, Virginia, where he’s constantly tinkering with Chartreuse cocktail recipes and restocking the Crisp Whites section of his cellar.

With an excitement for environmentally low-impact viticulture, wine chemistry and sensory, Maya manages the vineyards at Early Mountain and leads wine production in the cellar. Born in California, Maya has found a new love of wine in central Virginia. She earned an M.S. in Viticulture and Enology from U.C. Davis, with her research focusing on time-dependent sensory profiles and bubble nucleation of sparkling wine, as well as studies of Viognier wines from France, California and Virginia. She gained previous experience at several local boutique wineries around the state. Before getting into wine, Maya studied mathematics and engineering.

In 1990 Michael Shaps moved to Burgundy, and enrolled in the Lycée Viticole de Beaune to study oenology and viticulture. After receiving his diploma, he continued to work in Puligny Montrachet. In 1995 he moved to Virginia and was the Winemaker at Jefferson Vineyards for six vintages. The 2000 vintage Michael was the first for wines under his own label. In 2004 he won the Virginia Governor’s Cup and that same year, he returned to Burgundy and started Maison Shaps, in Meursault. In 2007, Michael established Virginia Wineworks, where he produces the Michael Shaps wines. The Wineworks facility is also home to a contract winemaking operation, now producing over eighteen different client brands, totaling 30,000 cases annually. In 2018 Michael Shaps became the steward of Shenandoah Vineyards, the second oldest winery in Virginia.

Matthieu was born in Crozes Hermitage in the Rhone Valley of France and comes from a family of viticulturists and wine lovers. He first studied viticulture and oenology at Beaune. After graduating in 1995, Matthieu worked in many wine regions around France and then worked in Italy and South Africa before settling in Virginia. Arriving in 2003, Matthieu has worked with wineries throughout Virginia and is a founding member of the Winemakers’ Research Exchange and Board Member of the Monticello Wine Trail. He enjoys being active the local winemaking community and challenging his skills through experimental design at King Family, working with different terroir at Turk Mountain Vineyards, which he currently manages, and partnering with his brother to establish and expand Domaine Finot in two regions in France.

Kirk Wiles founded Paradise Springs Winery in 2007 at the age of 24. After successfully litigating through a challenge from Fairfax County over its right to open as an agricultural entity, Paradise Springs now produces over 10,000 cases of wine a year in Virginia and serves as the closest winery to Washington DC and first in Fairfax County. Paradise Springs also has a second winery operation in Santa Barbara, California producing around 3,000 cases annually making it the first Bi-coastal Winery Brand in the country. A graduate of the University of Miami (Florida) with degrees in both Finance and Marketing, Kirk served as Chairman of the Virginia Wine Board while also serving on the boards of Wine America and the Virginia Winery Association. He was recently named as one of Wine Enthusiasts Top 40 Under 40 Tastemakers in the United States.

Emily moved to Virginia in 1999 to help her parents and sister transition as they moved to Virginia. Starting a vineyard in Virginia seemed like a far-flung idea, she quickly fell in love with the beauty of the industry and the area and decided to stay and pursue a career. Emily and her father, Andrew worked alongside each other as a team in the inception of Veritas, and Andrew held down the fort when she went to Virginia Tech to get her Masters degree in oenology. Emily is now head winemaker and feels strongly that with select varietals and true Virginia-grown fruit our industry will be unstoppable. Her philosophy involves trying to achieve natural, balanced expression of the fruit by focusing on attention to detail and cultural practices.