HALL Family Wines (Vice President of Winemaking)

Megan Gunderson earned B.S. degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in 2001 from Gustavus Adolphus College and immediately headed from Colorado to California to begin her path to a career in winemaking. There, she found a position in the Napa Valley as an intern at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville. It was here that Megan discovered a real passion for wine and viticulture. She went on to become Laboratory Manager, first for St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery in Rutherford and then for Dominus Estates in Yountville. At Dominus, the mentorship of Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Berrouet allowed her to refine her winemaking skills. Her bachelor degrees gave her a unique perspective into the scientific aspects of winemaking and several trips to France to study winemaking techniques, most recently to Burgundy in the summer of 2011, augmented her expertise.

In June 2005, Megan joined HALL Wines, then a relatively new winery, as enologist. HALL had just unveiled a state-of-the-art winery near Rutherford, dedicated to producing single vineyard and limited production Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. She was promoted to assistant winemaker and then to associate winemaker, positions that involved her working on all stages of the winemaking process, from visiting the vineyards, to helping select the winemaking methods, to monitoring the fermentation process, and overseeing the cellar and bottling.

HALL Wines purchased Roessler Cellars in 2010 and renamed it as WALT to honor proprietor Kathryn Hall’s family vineyard and heritage in Mendocino. Megan became the winemaker for WALT in 2015. In 2020, she was named Director of Winemaking for HALL Wines. Her responsibilities include managing the winery’s flagship Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons and overseeing winemaking for the WALT Pinot Noir brand and the Hall family’s newest brand, BACA, which focuses on producing high-quality Zinfindels.

In the cellar, Megan employs Old World-style winemaking techniques with a minimum of intervention, allowing the wines to be reflective of the terroir and the care taken in the vineyards. Her goal is to have her wines reflect the nuances and characteristics derived from the variety of soils, clones, and climates in which the grapes are produced.

Megan and her husband have three daughters and reside in Napa.