Viansa Winery & Marketplace

Lloyd W. Davis, President - Lloyd has spent his 29-year career providing capital to companies to support growth and acquisition. He has secured more than $7 billion to a variety of companies in the consumer products, service, distribution and manufacturing industries.

His involvement with Viansa is a natural for him. Lloyd has had a lifelong passion for wine and food that began when he was a financial advisor to a New York wine retailer and a leading investor in one of St. Louis’ top restaurants. In 2005 when he was asked to help acquire Viansa, he eagerly joined the team. His involvement after the acquisition continued to grow. In January, 2008, he became part-owner and president of the company.

Lloyd is a concerned, thoughtful and very involved president. He’s made a point to learn all aspects of the wine business. That means he can be found at the grape sorting table during harvest when fruit is coming in, and he’s also at work in the tasting room most weekends.

He’s committed to offering a broad selection of world-class wines from Viansa, and supporting those wines with exceptional customer service. His goal is to make everyone who visits the winery to feel at home.

Malcom Seibly, Winemaker

Malcolm’s passion to learn all that he could about wine started as a captivating hobby during his college years. He spent four years studying to be a doctor while also tasting wine and reading voraciously all that he could about winemaking and viticulture. He was planning to attend medical school when he decided to spend a summer vacationing in Europe.

After that trip, he continued to think about the vineyards he’d visited in Spain, France and Italy — and he spent little time thinking about becoming a physician.

“Until then,” Malcolm said, “it had never occurred to me that a person could have a career in wine and winemaking, and make a living at it.”

When he realized where his true career aspirations resided, he enrolled in the University of California Davis’ enology program. He graduated from Davis with a bachelor of science degree in fermentation sciences and enology.

Before starting at Viansa in 2009, Malcolm worked at Diageo Chateau & Estates, Sterling Vineyards, Chalone Wine Group and Guenoc & Langtry Estate.

Brooke Altman

Since July, 2006, Brooke Altman has worked as Viansa's director of special events. And special is just the right word, because all of the events she puts together are unique gatherings rich with meaning for the guests, especially when it's a wedding.

"Planning a wedding can be an emotional, stressful and yet happy time in someone's life," Brooke said. "I love being a part of it all from start to finish."

She helps brides and grooms plan perfect wine country weddings, working on everything from finding the ultimate hotel to selecting just the right food and wine pairing. Her favorite Viansa memory so far was helping a couple to plan their dream wedding in just one week.

"I loved the challenge," Brooke said. "It was wonderful seeing all the details knit together so quickly."

Brooke came to Viansa with a background in event coordination for a catering company. She also worked at a wine distributorship where she helped bars and restaurants develop their wine lists. When she's enjoying downtime, she likes to grill salmon and pair it with Viansa's Cento Chardonnay.

Nicole Ojeda, Assistant Tuscan Club Manager

Viansa's popular Tuscan Wine Club has kept Nicole Ojeda busy - very busy - for the past eight years. The amount of detail involved is huge, but Nicole handles it all beautifully. She oversees the database, plans club events and sees that the wine is properly packaged before it is shipped to customers. She also manages the customer service and sales team that is responsible for handling phone calls to and from members and the public. Creating gift baskets is another of her duties.

Much of her work involves a lot of contact with Tuscan Club members and that's one of her favorite things about her job.

"We held a Mardi Gras Carnival for the Tuscan Club a couple of years ago," Nicole said. "It was fun to see the members make jeweled and feathered masks and actually wear them all day long. Glitter was everywhere."

Before coming to Viansa, Nicole worked in a wine warehouse where she learned much about the proper storage, handling and shipping of wine.

She is delighted that Viansa's Marketplace is as well stocked with food as it is with wine.

"I'm a sweets person," she confessed. "I love Viansa's chocolate and caramel sauces."