Shawn Walker grew up in Southern California; his wife, Vlada, was born in St Petersburg, Russia, and came to this country when she was just 18. Although neither grew up with wine on the family table, both have developed an appreciation for how wine can distinctly improve the experience and flavors of the food that is served. Vlada has now achieved Level 3 WSET and Shawn attends winemaking classes at UC Davis. In 2021 they launched North Bay Wine Tours and just recently created a new service–a Petaluma Gap-focused wine tour. Here’s their story.
You both came to Petaluma from Southern California. Is that where you grew up? Tell us about your early childhood and your families.
Shawn: I grew up with my family in the beach city of San Clemente and decided to move up to the Bay Area in my early 20s after a vacation where I just fell in love with the people and nature of the area.
Vlada: I grew up with my family in St. Petersburg, Russia, and immigrated at the age of 18 to start my life in the USA. I spent 13 years in Marin before moving to Petaluma in 2020.
When you were young, did your family celebrations include wine? What was your impression of wine when you first tasted it? Do you remember what was in your glass?
My family doesn’t drink at celebrations, but a friend’s family always celebrated the holidays with a great Napa Cabernet. I loved how wine could distinctly improve the experience and flavor of much of the food that was served. Vlada didn’t enjoy wine until around the age of 25 when she started visiting Sonoma and Napa to explore the wine country. She learned what styles she likes, and doesn’t like, and appreciates the history and what it takes to make a good bottle.
Shawn, you graduated from Saddleback College, and Vlada, you graduated from the Academy of Art University and the International University of Economics and Law. What did you study at these colleges and why were you drawn to them?
I studied International Politics as I have always had a strong interest in political realities and how the larger world works. Growing up in Russia, Vlada studied International Business and Linguistics to allow for a smoother transition as an immigrant.
Shawn, for the last several years you have been involved in real estate, managing and selling properties. Are you still working in the real estate market? We noticed that you’re taking winemaking classes at UC Davis; do you have plans to make wine in the future?
Yes, in addition to running our tour business, I also work for Foundation Homes, a Property Management and Leasing brokerage in Marin where I help homeowners manage and lease their properties. As for winemaking, for now, it’s just a strong interest. We’ll see what the future holds.
Vlada, you’ve been with Sangiacomo Family Wines for the last couple of years, working as a wine educator, and you have also achieved Level 3 of WSET. That’s impressive! How do you manage to study, work in a tasting room, manage a family, and also work with Shawn on your new business?
I like to stay busy and better myself in anything I do and also provide a strong work ethic foundation for my son, so I have a lot of motivation to work hard at all of those things.
In 2021 you launched North Bay Wine Tours; that was during Covid. What motivated you to create the business and how difficult was it to get off the ground during the pandemic? When did you take your first clients out wine tasting?
We had been looking at a way to get into the wine business, and after a fortuitous trip to Texas where we rented a Tesla via Turo, it came to us that at the time there were no private driver’s offering a service how we would want to. COVID gave us a good amount of downtime to plan and as soon as CA let the wineries open, we were able to get going. In the beginning, there was a lot of nervousness and we kept our Insta-read thermometer and masks on hand, but we found a lot of joy in the business and kept going. Our first guest tour was in March 2021.
What services do you provide to customers who want to tour the North Bay Wine Country?
We offer trip planning services, as well as private driver services, for small groups ranging from 1-4 guests. We’re happy to pick up our customers from their accommodations anywhere in the North Bay as well as San Francisco and every tour comes with a welcome splash of sparkling wine, water, and charcuterie to enjoy in the car.
Tell us about your customers. Have you taken any celebrities or famous people to visit our wineries? What are some of the most interesting groups that you’ve served?
Our clientele tends to be couples on their honeymoons and anniversaries, or on annual trips with groups of friends. Overall, we’ve yet to have a bad group, something about wine tasting just keeps people in a fantastic mood. As for celebrities, we’ve toured a few NFL football and basketball players as well as social media and wine influencers, all of them have enjoyed our services as well.
We often see wine aficionados arrive in Sonoma County for vacation, and they say they want to go to Napa. Do you encourage people to stay closer and visit Sonoma County instead? There are so many fine wineries it’s a shame to come from so far and not discover the wonderful wines made in our county!
We do! We get quite a few couples that have certain wineries in mind, and we always try to honor that, but we love Sonoma. When someone books with us we work to get a feeling for what kind of wine and experience they’re seeking. Some want to stick with a heavy Napa cab, but for anyone who’s open to other varietals, we let them know Sonoma is the place to be! Outside of that, anyone that’s in our area for multiple days really should give Sonoma a try. We’re bigger than Napa, and after giving Sonoma a try on one of their days we find repeat guests want to keep coming back.
Vlada, you have developed many skills since moving to Northern California, including branding, wine education, digital marketing, SEO, photography, and social media. What do you love to do the most?
I love that I can use my creative side to run the business and provide great service to others. Photography, social media, and marketing are my top 3 skills that I love to use to connect with our clients and partners to showcase North Bay Wine Tours as a brand.
You recently launched a Petaluma Gap-focused wine tour. Can you tell us about this service?
Our Petaluma Gap tour features 3 wineries located in the Petaluma Gap AVA. We focus on creating a unique experience that provides access to a typically unaccessible winery or a tasting with the wine marker. We’re excited to show off the Gap, one of California’s newest AVAs.
The two of you have started a family of your own. Can you share what it’s like being young parents and planning for your family’s future?
It’s hectic and fulfilling and stressful and full of joy. It’s hard to put into words just how amazing it’s been to add Alex to our lives. We’re a young family and there’s a lot of work ahead, but we’re looking forward to building our roots and creating a strong foundation in Sonoma.
