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SHAWNN ANTIEAU VERSINO From Traverse City to the award-winning vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape By Madeleine Vedel
“H
ave you met Shawnn?” Myriam Brémond of Cave St Charles in Châteauneuf-du-Pape asked me as I helped chop
vegetables to add to our dinner of slow-cooked lamb roast in her home, tucked just below the old (new) castle of the pope. “Not as yet. Who is she?” I responded. “She’s my American friend. Our sons are in school together at the lycée. She’s married to Jean-Paul Versino, of Bois de Boursan. And she comes from Michigan, I think from that city where you live, Traverse…??” “What! How is it I’ve never met her?” I’ve been visiting and tasting with friends and guests in Châteauneuf-du-Pape for nearly 25 years, and have been to over 50 of the local wineries – I’ve lost count. So how did I miss meeting Shawnn? I quickly remedied this lapse, inviting her to join me and my rst group at a special lunch at the Cave St. Charles with Guy Brémond and his chef/partner Jean-Claude Altmeyer. Being from her home town I had a special interest in wanting to know Shawnn’s story, and along with it, the history of Domaine Bois de Boursan, the Versino family’s arrival in the area, their progressive acquisition of vineyards, opening of the
Shawnn Antieau Versino
winery (1955 with only 5 hectares), and their preference for continuing to make wine in the traditional “Châteauneuf” style. When Shawnn graduated from Traverse City High School in 1989 she didn’t have a plan for what came next, so she enrolled at the local junior college, Northwestern Michigan College. While taking classes there she got a part-time job at the family run Chateau Grand Traverse winery up the road on Old Mission Peninsula. The creation of Ed O’Keefe, a widely-traveled man who persuaded that the peninsula had the potential to make great wines, the winery was planted in Alsatian and Rhine Valley vinifera varietals. O’Keefe was an early pioneer in growing Riesling and Gamay in the area, and in addition to the time he spent in Germany learning about wine-making, he brought in German specialists both to run his cellar and to intern. It was at CGT that Shawnn discovered a love of wine. There she worked in the tasting room and bottled under Operations
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