Fred grew up listening to stories of winemaking and brandy distilling from his Italian grandfather while farming row crop with his father. At age 12 he had a small vineyard down the south side of the house and his first vinegar barrel. Those interests never left. When it came time to retire from a career as a firefighting helicopter pilot, the transition back to farming and wine was natural. Having picked up a degree in systematic biology and ecology along the way, Fred saw the opportunity to meld his interest in science with his love of grape growing and winemaking.

When Fred's mother suggested he might want to farm his grandfather's ranch in the Russian River Valley, we were intrigued. It's a great place to grow wine, especially Pinot Noir.

Fred could do this! His father and his grandfather would have loved the idea, and we loved the idea of building wine from the ground up, starting at the cellular level.

Quick studies, both, in 1997, we sold everything we owned, remodeled a caretaker's house on the ranch, took every class we could find, read every book, and in the Spring of 2000 we planted ten different blocks of Pinot Noir. More Nunes Vineyard >>

A favorite Grandfather Muzio story involves a large wooden tank of wine on a covert trip in the back of Muzio's truck crossing the San Francisco Bay on the ferry. All that motion and a little residual sugar started the wine fermenting. By the time they reached the dock, the bung had popped, wine was foaming out all over the deck of the boat and Muzio had the motor running and revved.

Our Journey to wine >>

Frederic Nunes & Wendy Fowler Nunes