The People

Scott Snowden was five years old when the family first came to the Napa Valley.  During high school, college, and graduate school, Scott worked summers at Hanns Kornell Cellars, Inglenook Winery, and Beaulieu Vineyard. He attended Washington and Lee University and the Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley.  He practiced law in Napa before his appointment to the bench in 1980.  Scott retired as Presiding Judge of the Napa Superior Court 2005.  He is now a mediator-arbitrator with the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service, better known as “JAMS - The Resolution Experts.”  Half cowboy and half lawman, Scott regularly quotes Bob Dylan.  A fanatic fly fisherman, he is the creator of the Snowdun, a fly pattern sold in sportshops in several western states.  He has also appeared as a visiting judge in Craig Johnson's fascinating "Longmire" mysteries.  Scott is a managing director for Snowden Vineyards.

Randy Snowden was two when the family arrived in the Napa Valley. He worked summer jobs in wineries during his school years, including cellar positions at Heitz Wine Cellars (which neighbors the Snowden ranch on the west) and Robert Mondavi Winery; and in the tasting room at Beaulieu Vineyard. Randy earned his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of California at Davis. He practiced law in Richmond, Virginia, and Napa, California, and then went on to be the founding director of two rehabilitation programs for teenagers dealing with challenges relating to substance use and other issues -- Thunder Road in Oakland, and The Wolfe Center in Napa.  Randy was the Director of the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency from 2005 until retiring into the family wine business in late 2013.  Playing rock bass in his spare time, Randy is a managing director for Snowden Vineyards.

Joann Ortega Snowden is a partner in Ortega Design Studio in St. Helena where she and her twin sister, Susann, design wine labels and other graphics for wineries in the United States and Europe.  Snowden Vineyards is of course among her many clients. Joann attended the Otis Art Institute and graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. She is also a landscape painter, photographer, printmaker, and animal lover.  Joann lives with her husband Scott in St. Helena.  Joann is a managing director for Snowden Vineyards.

Janet Snowden grew up in the Bay Area and attended the University of California at Davis.  She went on to earn a Master's degree in Library Science at the University of California at Berkeley.  During college, Janet worked summers at Beaulieu Vineyards.  For many years a reference librarian at Kennedy Library in Vallejo, Janet retired in 2011.  Today, Janet lives in Napa with her husband, Randy, and enjoys watercolor painting, contemporary literature, and fine claret-style wines.  Janet is a managing director for Snowden Vineyards.

Diana Snowden Seysses is a Napa Valley native and the eldest of the four third-generation-Snowdens active in the family’s vineyard and wine endeavor.  She graduated from the Viticulture and Enology program at the University of California at Davis in 2001.  During and after her studies, she worked at wineries in California and France, including Robert Mondavi Winery, Mumm Napa Valley, the Araujo Estate, Ramey Wine Cellars, Fleur de Boüard, and Domaine Leflaive.  In January, 2003, Diana became oenologist at Domain Dujac in Burgundy.   Diana became winemaker at Snowden commencing with the 2005 harvest and since then has divided her professional time between California and Burgundy, where she lives with her husband Jeremy and their sons, Aubert and Blaise.

Christian Snowden grew up in Napa and earned a degree in microbiology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2001.  During college, he worked as a summer cellar hand at Bridlewood Winery in Santa Ynez.  In 2003 Chris served as cellar master at Frazier Winery in Napa.  From 2004 to 2006 Chris was the national sales manager for Snowden Vineyards.  In 2006, Chris became the Southern California regional manager for The Sorting Table during its first years as the national marketing agent for Snowden.  He went on to obtain a master’s degree in business administration from Pepperdine University.  Today, Chris is a financial advisor and principal at Channel Wealth, a financial services firm in Santa Barbara, California.  Chris lives in Goleta with his wife Alanna, son Dax, and daughter Evyn.

Susanne Snowden grew up in St. Helena and attended San Diego State University.  She went on to study brand strategy at the Academy of Art in San Francisco before earning her master's degree in clinical social work at the University of Southern California. Upon completing school, Susanne worked for a number of years in behavioral health services with the Napa County Health and Human Services.   Since 2023, she has been a licensed behavioral health counselor for the City of Berkeley's Family, Youth and Children's Mental Health Serivces. Dividing her time between the East Bay and the Napa Valley, Susanne has traveled extensively and frequently represents Snowden at wine presentations and events.

Carey Snowden Harrington grew up in Napa, then earned a degree in Spanish at the University of California at Los Angeles.  In 2007 Carey became the Culinary Assistant to Corey Lee, the Chef de Cuisine at The French Laundry in Yountville.  From 2009 to 2015 she served as the managing partner of Benu, a restaurant in San Francisco founded by Mr. Lee.  Today, Carey provides financial, administrative and consulting services to a range of independently owned wineries and other businesses in California's Central Coast area -- as well managing financial matters for Snowden Vineyards.  Carey is married to Ryan Harrington, the executive director of The Foundation for Girsh Park, which administers a multi-use community park in Goleta, California.  Carey and Ryan live on the Hollister Ranch north of Santa Barbara with their daughters Virginia and Etta.

Severiano De Loera has been Ranch Manager at Snowden Vineyards since  1994.  Working with a crew of five vineyard staff, Seve oversees year-round vineyard operations --  pruning, training, cultivation, fertigation and irrigation, ground management, crop management and harvest.  He also watches over the 137 acres of wild woodlands.  Seve grew up in Los Haro, a small, historic town near Cuidad Jerez de García Salinas in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico.  Before coming to Snowden, he worked in vineyard operations for several growers and vintners in the St. Helena area, including Spring Creek Vineyards, Charles Krug Winery, and Hilker Vineyards.  Seve and his wife, Ofelia Rios De Loera, are the owners of Cocina Severiano Catering.

Karen Bradley is the manager of Snowden Vineyards’ business office, fielding inquiries from the public, liaising with club members, taking orders from customers, coordinating charitable contributions of wine, arranging shipments to our export markets, scheduling and hosting tastings in our private tasting room, and managing regulatory compliance in the states where we’re qualified to make direct sales.  Born and raised in Omaha, Karen attended the University of Nebraska, where she was (and remains) a staunch Huskers booster.  She moved to the Napa Valley in 1980, working at Glen Ellen Winery, Benziger Family Winery, Mahoney Family Vineyards, and the Napa Valley Golf Course, where she was office manager for more than 15 years.  Karen was for many years the coordinator for the Napa Valley Masters Swim Team and and swims with them, as well as with the St. Helena Masters Swim Team.  Karen lives in St. Helena with her husband, Kevin.