Mandy Donovan

Winemaker/Owner

Mandy’s interest and curiosity in wine began at a young age through traveling with her family and watching them collect and taste wines from around the world. (Maybe she tried a little too!). In college, she studied liberal arts with a focus in science and agriculture and worked nights at a wine bar in Vermont. But wine was still just an interest and curiosity. It was not until she moved home to Northern California after serving 2 and half years in the Peace Corps, when she realized it was fall, she desperately needed a job, and it happened to be wine grape harvest. From there, she realized what she wanted to do. She worked up and throughout the wine industry in both the cellar and labs, from Italy to New Zealand, Sonoma and Napa, before returning to graduate school at UC Davis for a Master’s in Viticulture and Enology. Eight years ago, Mandy launched Merisi Wines as a side project, a creative outlet allowing her to work with “alternative” grapes to Cabernet and Chardonnay, which dominated her regular workload. As a winemaker, she never wants to stop exploring new regions and new varietals to work with.