Shelby Green, Assistant Winemaker

Shelby Green is the Assistant Winemaker for Castello di Amorosa in Calistoga and V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. Shelby joined the wineries in 2017, after graduating with two degrees from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo—one B.S. in Food Science and another B.S. in Nutrition. She has also recently completed her two-year Winemaking Certificate Program at the University of California, Davis.

Post-graduation and prior to joining Castello di Amorosa and V. Sattui Winery she worked at Ferrari-Carano Winery in Sonoma County. She currently works with a wide range of varietals making wines for the two wineries and particularly enjoys Merlots and Pinot Noirs.

Shelby enjoys working in the medieval setting of Castello di Amorosa. As she explains, “even though we may work in a thirteenth century castle, our winemaking techniques have kept up with the modern day. One of the most important tools we utilize during harvest is TankNET; it’s essentially a cloud-based control system that we use to keep track of our tanks during the busy season. We have the ability to schedule automated pump-overs on tanks, control heating/cooling and track fermentations of all of our tanks directly from our computer or phone.” If she had to choose just one wine as a favorite of the wines she makes, it would be the winery’s Terra de Promisso Pinot Noir, which is sourced from a spectacular vineyard on the Sonoma Coast.

Shelby came to her love of winemaking during college. “When I was younger wine was always around, but I didn’t think much of making a career of it. It wasn’t until my first laboratory internship at a winery that I thought back to the varietals my grandfather would drink, Pinot Noir and Merlot. Of course, those naturally became my favorite wines as well. It wasn’t until I started as an Enologist for V. Sattui and Castello di Amorosa, that my grandfather told me he was a wine club member at V. Sattui back in the early 1990s- guess you could say things have come full circle!”

In her spare time Shelby loves hiking with her dog Koda on the Sonoma Coast and in different regional parks in California’s North Bay wine country. Recently she has been training for an IronMan race, alternating between swimming, biking and running. Aside from training she enjoys baking. Her specialty is cinnamon rolls. “I usually make about 300 when I have the time,” she says, adding “they freeze exceptionally well, and it brings me so much happiness to be able to share them with all of my friends, family and coworkers.”

Interviews

♦ Shelby Green – Wine Women, July 30, 2021 (Interview)