Grandfather Muzio made quite a bit of wine every year in his San Francisco basement, and Fred's mother, Dorothy Nunes, remembers punching down the must when she was a child. Young Fred forayed into growing wine grapes at the age of eleven when he planted Cabernet Sauvignon in his mother's side garden as a 4-H project and made himself a little wine. It didn't turn out to be cult-quality, but the process fascinated him even then.

Fred and I decided to plant Nunes Vineyard in 1997, when Fred retired from a 30-year career as a firefighting helicopter pilot. My graphic design business could move anywhere.

The concept of farming as a second career was familiar and appealing to Fred as from the age of twelve he was on a tractor growing row crops with his father. He has a Systematic Biology and Ecology degree from San Francisco State University, and we both completed the viticulture classes at Santa Rosa JC.

The forty three acres for Nunes Vineyard came to Fred from his grandfather, Fred Muzio, who bought it in the 1950’s to farm hay and raise pigs and as a weekend spot for the family to gather.