Doug Fabbioli, Co-Founder, Winemaker

It is said that the passion that Doug Fabbioli has for making quality wines has been passed down from his paternal grandfather, Leone Fabbioli. When Leone made his wine in the basement of his Elmira home in the 1940’s and 50’s he would take special care to sort the fruit, keep the lots of wine separate and get to know the growers of the fruit before deciding to buy. Doug employs time honored traditions of constant care and evaluation of quality along with the modern scientific techniques to both grow the grapes and make the wine at his winery.

Doug was attending Syracuse University for Production Management when he took a part-time job helping a friend plant and run a vineyard. “This was a very exciting time for me but I knew that we all needed to learn a lot” Doug says. This realization sent Doug and his wife to be Colleen to Sonoma Valley in Northern California for their next chapter.

Doug was employed in the wine cellar at Buena Vista Winery in the Carneros district. Over the ten years of his employment, Doug had a chance to work with many fine winemakers including the legendary Andre Tchelicheff. He continued his education in both enology and viticulture at U.C. Davis and Santa Rosa Junior College. Doug was becoming an accomplished home winemaker while he continued to work and learn as a professional. He had been the assistant Winemaker for 3 years when he heard the calling to return to the East Coast.

Doug accepted the winemaker position at Tarara in Lucketts, VA in 1997 and brought his wife Colleen and sons Matthew and Sam to start a new chapter in the fledgling Virginia wine industry. “My time at Tarara gave me a chance to find out just what my capabilities are. As much as I knew, I found out how much more there was to learn. Even though I get recognition of success through gold medals and awards, I am humbled by the thought that the best wine is not achievable, but a journey of constant effort and learning.”

In 2000, Doug was giving some guidance to Windham to improve quality and productivity in both the vineyard and cellar. This effort increased greatly when in 2001, Doug left Tarara and became the Vintner for Windham. The goal of balance in the vineyards has led to changing some trellising systems causing both quality and quantity increases. In 2002, Doug’s efforts were rewarded as Windham won its first gold medal along with numerous other honors of gold, silver and bronze. Not long after, Doug’s passion for wine brought him to his latest endeavor of owning his own winery and operating Fabbioli Cellars with his wife Colleen. They own a 6 acre vineyard and are strongly known for their red wines and have numerous awards across the board.

Colleen Berg, Co-Founder, General Manager

Bio coming soon!

Doug Caldwell, Distribution Manager

A native of North Carolina, Doug spent most of his youth in the glory of the Shenandoah Valley not far from Staunton, where he identified with the rural landscape and the beauty of nature’s bounty. After graduating from William and Mary with a BS in Environmental Science, Doug took a position with Hershey Chocolate Company during the start up of a new prototype facility in Stuarts Draft, VA. For thirteen years he was involved in all aspects of their laboratory testing and quality assurance from food microbiology to EPA regs to their taste panel (Yum!) where he developed a set of skills that would help him soon learn to appreciate wine on a much deeper level. He then partnered with a fast growing family-owned business as the manager of their corporate office. Over the next decade, the company grew exponentially and he sold his share, moving to Northern Virginia to work with a regional (again family owned) business consulting company.

A friend of his, who had started a wine distribution company, was looking for some help in the Northern Virginia market, so naturally when wine was involved, Doug felt the calling. It was during this stint that Doug met the other Doug, as in Doug Fabbioli. The two hit it off immediately. “D Fabb” realized the potential of having a dedicated wholesale person and approach to getting his wine out to the people. “D Fresh” saw the potential of promoting a small grass roots winery with exceptional wine and a passionate view for the Virginia wine market.

Doug is also passionate and addicted to his outdoor sports: Windsurfing, Kiteboarding, Snowboarding, Skiing, and yes, even that ancient game of frustration called Golf. Doug lives in Manassas with his fiancée Kathy and he has a son, Matt, who is attending college.

Jennifer Harris

Jennifer was born and raised in the Niagara Region . It was here that she discovered the vast areas of the wine world which lead her to Niagara College. It was while attending Niagara College’s Wine and Viticulture Technician Program that she met her future husband/winemaker Jordan Harris.

After a school wine trip to Germany Jennifer caught the travel bug and after graduation applied for Niagara College’s Wine Internship. After beating out 40 applicants Jennifer had the opportunity to Travel to what was at the time Vincor Australia’s Goundrey and Amberly wineries, where she interned for 7 months. After returning home post internship Jennifer still had a thirst for knowledge and enrolled into the CAPS sommelier program offered at Niagara college where she had the opportunity to learn from Master Sommelier John Szabo.

After Completion of the CAPS sommelier program Jennifer with her husband moved to Leesburg, Virginia to further their careers, knowledge and help educate others, they have resided there for the past 3 years.

Lisa Comento, DC Wholesale

She is a California girl who relocated with family to North Carolina when she was still in college. Lisa received her BA in English at North Carolina State University. She then moved to Washington, DC in 2007 and was delighted to learn about Virginia's booming wine culture. Growing up in a half Italian family the kids were allowed wine during holiday dinners. However, Lisa did not acquire a true love for wine until age 19 while studying abroad in Florence, Italy. Since then Lisa have taken a true interest in wine. In October 2009, Lisa tasted Fabbioli wine for the first time and was in love after one sip! By day Lisa is employed at Georgetown University and by night and some weekends I am either selling wine or working wine festivals. As Fabbioli DC Wine Rep Lisa will visit restaurants, liquor stores and specialty grocery stores to introduce and sell Fabbioli Cellar's wine. She enjoys selling delicious local wine and being a part of the Virginia wine industry. When not selling Fabb-wine Lisa loves to take road trips along the east coast to visit family and friends, yoga, cook, read, hike, go to the beach, watch live music and volunteer with local environmental non-profits.

Paula Feldmann, (formerly Prato), Wine Educator

Doug and Coleen rescued Paula from the rigors of a part time retail job in August of 2008. She was first introduced to Doug’s FAB-ulous red wines in 2005 by Doug himself who held a glass out to her one Saturday afternoon at the house saying, “Here! Taste this!” Needless to say from that moment on she was hooked. Paula shares her time in the Tasting Room with a full time job as Warehouse Manager for a small division of SAIC and her 4 children, Heather, Christopher, Kory (who also works part time here at Fabbioli’s) and Adam. In her multitudes of spare time she enjoys walking at sunrise, sewing, knitting, quilting, cooking and reading. Her favorite wine of all time is the 2007 Cabernet Franc (closely followed by the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon).

REAL PEOPLE