Our Family

Emil Tedeschi, Founder & Winemaker Emeritus

Emil was born in the Calistoga Hospital and raised on the current winery estate.  In his early 20’s, with a thirst for adventure, he traveled the globe and landed in Hawaii. There he, along with Pardee Erdman dreamt of the possibilities and cofounded Tedeschi Vineyards, Maui Wine that is still active and famous for both still wine and sparkling wine made from pineapple.  In 1991 Emil returned to Napa Valley and his childhood home along with a new wife and family. He planted the estate’s first commercial vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, a departure from the family's walnut and fruit orchards. Today, he is our Winemaker Emeritus as the two oldest of his children have inherited his dream of an artisan winery, producing old world style wines, with techniques passed from generation to generation.  When you visit the winery, you may likely meet Emil in the family gardens or tending to his bee hives.

Aunt Fran Tedeschi - Director of 'Estate Aestetics'

Frances Tedeschi was born and raised here in Calistoga, along with her brother. She has enjoyed traveling and living in exotic and exciting places like San Francisco but has retired to the family homestead here in Calistoga.  Today, you can find “Aunt” Fran directing “aesthetics” around the estate, arranging flower bouquets to adorn the tasting room and organizing trays of delectable offerings to accompany our wines at special, onsite events. In recognition of Aunt Fran’s contributions, Emilio and Mario create a wine each year and name it “Aunt Fran’s Pick”, expressive of the lively character and lightheartedness she brings to our family daily, through her bright floral arrangements, and authentic Italian cooking. 

Emilio Tedeschi, MBA - General Manager

Emilio was born in Hawaii on the island of Maui, and moved to Calistoga at 3 years old as fourth generation and ultimately, steward to the family homestead and winery dream.  Having graduated high school with honors here in Napa, Emilio attended Gonzaga University in Washington state, where he completed a degree in B.S. Biochemistry. Today, Emilio is realizing his own dream as well as his father’s after completing his MBA in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. You can meet Emilio in the winery office or more likely the Tasting Room as he is a vital part of all aspects of the winery and sincerely enjoys sharing the wine with visitors. 

Mario Tedeschi - Winemaker & Vineyard Manager

Mario brings with him 15+ years of grape growing and winemaking experience in Napa Valley. Raised on Spring Mountain, he learned at an early age how to tend vines and assist in winemaking practices while working alongside his father, a 3rd generation Napa Valley vintner. Mario’s previous projects have included working under notable winemakers Scott Harvey and David Sundberg, closely tied to brands including Tedeschi Family Winery, Scott Harvey Wines, Eeden Vineyards, and Northbrook. Today Mario oversees vineyard management operations at his family’s Tedeschi Company, specializing in northern premium AVAs including Spring Mountain District, Diamond Mountain, Chalk Hill, Calistoga, and St. Helena. Grape clients from his vineyards under management have included The Prisoner, Black Stallion, Cain, Merus Estates, Herzog Wine Cellars, LOLA, Pellegrini, and Saddleback Cellars. Mario is especially passionate about one property in particular – the Cabernet vineyard on the Calistoga Tedeschi estate. In 2018 he began replanting his father’s vines to now farm the 3rd generation of vines on this property.

David Sundberg - Winemaker

Our Winemaker, David Sundberg, has been making wine since the late 90's. Passionate about all things culinary, he first studied to become a chef before finding his way to winemaking. David received a Winemaking degree from California State University Fresno, and following graduation, honed his winemaking skills at Ste. Michelle Estates Elara, Conn Creek, and Villa Mt. Eden in Mendocino and Napa. He moved to Chile to become Winemaker at a small family owned winery in the Maipo Valley. Upon returning to California, he began consulting and making wines with William Knuttel, including Ottimino and William Knuttel Wines. In 2010 David began consulting here at Tedeschi Family Winery, helping us with harvests, and has overseen our growth in wine production over the subsequent years. In addition to helping craft our family wines, he is also a talented chef and cooks for many of our special events and dinners here at the winery. His style of winemaking is along our own, believing that wines should be well balanced and bespeak of their respective variety.

Stephanie Trotter-Zacharia - Director of Sales

The youngest of sixteen kids, Stephanie left her home in Philadelphia en route to Alaska at the ripe old age of 18. She knew instantly, crossing over the Golden Gate that she was home.  She took her first position in Napa Valley’s wine industry in 1995 at Clos Pegase Winery in the tasting room.  After a couple of years, she moved to a cellar position at Dutch Henry Winery, and four years later, to Casa Nuestra where she acted as Marketing/Hospitality Director and Apprentice Winemaker for ten years. She transitioned to David Fulton Winery in St. Helena to help put together a tasting room and wine club while helping in the production. In fall of 2013 Stephanie joined our family here at Tedeschi, where she began building our Wine Club and continues to oversee Marketing operations. You can find her in our tasting room, as well as showing folks around - explaining the wine making process, and describing the vine-to-bottle journey.

Ashley Ford - Wine Club Manager

Ashley came to us at the introduction of her father, a longtime friend and fan of Tedeschi wines.  Born in Texas, Ashley’s parents moved her and her family to Napa Valley when she turned 9 years old. Spreading her wings, Ashley moved to Colorado and started Agricultural Science courses at Mesa University before returning to complete her Degree in Viticulture at Napa Valley College in 2015. Initially, she was prepping lab samples and working with an accounting department at a local wine lab, until we realized her bright personality needed to be here. Starting in March of 2016, Ashley is now pouring wine and giving both fun & educational tours to visitors as well as helping Tedeschi Family Wine Club members make the most of their visits to wine country with her insider tips on where to stay, eat, and see.

Shalsei Tedeschi - Assistant Winemaker

Shalsei joined team Tedeschi in 2021 and is special to us for several reasons. She graduated Chico State with a degree in Human Nutrition and Food Science. While exploring avenues in the food industry she discovered her love of wine, beginning as an intern at Frances Ford Coppola winery. Following her internship, Shalsei stayed on at Coppola full-time to work in their Quality Assurance department and assist on the bottling lines where total production reached in some years 1 million cases bottled annually. During harvest season, she would transition into the lab where she honed her lab analysis skills. After a few seasons at Coppola, Shalsei decided to further her foray into winemaking by seeking opportunities with exposure to cellar work and vineyard growing. After discovering Tedeschi through introductions from Emilio, Shalsei realized that a small family winery was the perfect fit - she could apply her degree while experiencing new adventures in all the departments. While Shalsei can be found sharing wine and educating guests in the tasting room throughout the week, she is essential to our team as our Assistant Winemaker, working closely with David Sundberg in crafting and ensuring the quality in future vintages of Tedeschi Family wines.