Nova Cadamatre

Cornell University provided the formal base for the work that followed, and the progression after that sits squarely in the trade of American wine. At Robert Mondavi Winery, Souverain, Beringer Knights Valley, and Chateau St. Jean, the work of winemaking demands the same core skills in different settings: reading the fruit, holding a line, and making decisions that stand up in bottle. Each role added another layer of technical range and regional fluency to Nova Cadamatre’s practice.

The scope widened at Constellation at Canandaigua Winery in New York State, where director of winemaking meant overseeing more than a single wine or vintage. From there, Nova Cadamatre moved into self-employed consulting and into founding Trestle Thirty One, Snowshell Vineyards, and Fiadh Ruadh. The arc points to a career built on both management and independence, with each step extending her reach across cellar work, client work, and her own names.

Work now runs between Napa and the Finger Lakes, with consulting clients in both places setting the pace. That kind of schedule asks for speed, but also for close reading: vineyard, cellar, and season all have to be assessed on the move. The point is less movement for its own sake than the ability to transfer judgment cleanly from one region to another.

Trestle Thirty One, Snowshell Vineyards, and Fiadh Ruadh are the names most closely tied to Nova Cadamatre’s own work. As signatures, they mark the point where established cellar experience turns into ventures carrying her name and decisions. Taken together, they show the spread of her practice across regions and formats, while keeping to the same art-and-science framework she names as central to great wine.

Nova Cadamatre’s honors include Master of Wine and Top 40 Under 40.