People

Don Ross

Founder

After graduating from college Don went to work as an aerospace engineer on the Apollo Lunar Landing Project. In time Don became “Project Engineer for Lunar Mission Planning on the Apollo. After the second lunar landing he bought a small aluminum extrusion distributorship. The company is still run today by his family and it has become the largest manufacturer of shower enclosures in the country.

Joann Ross

Proprietor

I grew up in upstate New York and moved to California soon after graduating college. I have worked in the TV/Movie business and advertising. The longest time spent in the telecommunications business in Sales Management until 2004 when I left the 9 to 5 world to be with Don, the love of my life.

Together we enjoy all the amenities offered by living in the Napa Valley, dining in great restaurants, visiting with friends and most of all walking and hiking with our dog through beautiful vineyards and the lovely mountains, which border the valley.

Thomas Rivers Brown

Winemaker

Don met Thomas Rivers Brown when he joined a small wine tasting group soon after moving to the valley. Thomas is considered to be the finest winemaker in the valley. We were thrilled when he offered to make Shibumi Knoll wines.

David Abreu

Vineyard Manager

When we bought Shibumi Knoll from Vineyard 29, we were fortunate to inherit David Abreu as our vineyard manager. David has the reputation of being the finest vineyard manager in the country and he’s certainly brought to us excellent fruit vintage after vintage from our Cabernet vineyard.

Tara Pray

Sales, Marketing and Compliance Manager

Tara joined the Shibumi team as Sales and Marketing Manager in 2018 after working as a buyer on the retail side of the wine industry for a number of years.  A native of New York, she moved to Napa in January 2017 and is enjoying all the beauty, experiences, and treasures that Northern California offers. When she is not visiting the wonderful tasting rooms of Sonoma and Napa, or enjoying wines from the Rhone Valley or WA state  (her two favorite regions), Tara could be found cooking, traveling, visiting family and friends or enjoying a wonderful night out with her husband.

Balthazar Ross AKA Bali

Very Important Dog

He was born on February 28th has four legs and a big toothy smile. He came to me on May 8th. My late husband Don Ross didn’t get to meet him but named him with a naturally big wine name. Balthazar is a 16-bottle bottle format of wine. Bali still has a lot to learn but he’s coming along nicely.

Tucker Ross

Very Important Dog

Tucker was my oldest partner for the past 15 years and my steadfast companion. He was with me through all of these past challenging years and offered unconditional love as only a beautiful big teddy bear of a Labrador can.

Sadly, Tucker passed away on the 23rd of September, 2022. He passed peacefully at his beloved Shibumi looking out the front door at the stunning views of vines and mountains on a sunny beautiful day. He was a true gentlemen dog and will be missed beyond measure but his spirit lives here on the knoll
and in our hearts.

Des Echavarrie

Scale Wine Group, Consultant

Desmond Echavarrie, Master Sommelier,is a true professional and has a passion and a sense of fun that mirror all the elements that make Shibumi what it is today.

During his tenure as a sommelier The French Laundry,  he was introduced to Shibumi Knoll wines and became friends with Don Ross. After many leading wine industry positions managing wholesale and direct sales, Des embarked on the most challenging endeavor of his career and launched Scale Wine Group.

With a mission to help small family-owned wineries elevate their brand through wholesale,
Scale Wine Group has grown into an amazing group of wine sales professionals representing
over 2o different brands. As liaisons and wine brand advocates, Scale has developed a strong
network of distributor partners and sommelier supporters throughout the country and
abroad.

Next


Vineyard and Wines