Our Team
Michael Shaps
Owner, Winemaker
In 1990 Michael moved to France where he enrolled in the Lycée Viticole de Beaune in Burgundy to study oenology and viticulture. Under the guidance of Burgundy's noted professors and winemakers.
In 1995 Michael moved to Virginia to work at Jefferson Vineyards as head winemaker and general manager. After six vintages he began producing wine under the “Michael Shaps” label. He initially partnered with King Family Vineyards, where he helped launch their brand as well as his own.
In 2004 he partnered with his old mentor and head winemaker at Maison Chartron et Trebuchet and together they opened a winery and rental house in Meursault, France, one of Burgundy’s most renowned winemaking villages. Maison Shaps—now named solely after Michael -- is a garage-ist style winery, focusing on small vineyard lots from some of Burgundy’s most famous vineyard sites. These artisanal-style wines are imported to the United States and sold all along the East Coast.
Michael found a new home for his brand when he and a partner opened Virginia Wineworks in 2007. This multi-faceted operation is both the home of the Michael Shaps brand and Virginia’s first and largest contract winemaking operation. In 2014 Michael expanded Wineworks into an operation that approaches 30,000 cases of annual wine production. In 2014 an expansion project was completed to include a new office building, tasting room, and crush pad, with a 16,000-square-foot warehouse to store wine and serve as the new bottling facility.
Known in the industry for his innovation and winemaking expertise, Michael has won numerous awards, spoken at wine conferences in California and throughout the East Coast, and consulted at dozens of reputable wineries in the mid-Atlantic region. Both an innovator and entrepreneur by nature, Michael continues to be a leader in the Virginia wine scene.
Christie Shaps
Human Resources, Wine Club and Retail Manager
Christie began her career in the wine industry in 1995 working at Jefferson Vineyards as the Tasting Room, Events & Office manager.Over the years she has worked at several wineries, consulted throughout Virginia for start-up wineries and now oversees both Tasting Rooms, Wine Club and human resources for Wineworks.
Michael Heny
Michael Heny studied Mechanical Engineering and Comparative Literature at the University of Virginia. After graduating in 1990, he worked his first harvest at Montdomaine, now the site of Michael Shaps Wineworks. In 1997, Michael joined the winemaking team at Horton Vineyards where he spent many years dedicated to showcasing Virginia wines, and in the spring of 2019 he joined the team at Michael Shaps Wineworks.
When not crafting wine, he enjoys exploring the mountains, woods and streams of Central Virginia and beyond with his wife and two children.
Gavin Baum
Gavin was the winemaker at Thatch Winery for 8 years before joining the Shaps team as Vineyard Manager in 2022 and has been tending vines and making wine in Virginia for over a decade.
When he's not scouring his vineyards for the first sign of mildew like an utter paranoiac, or frantically comparing forecasts on the half dozen weather apps on his phone, you can probably find him hiking somewhere off the Skyline Drive, posted up on the couch with his wife and cat reading, or rummaging through his friends' kitchen drawers in search of a corkscrew.
Alec Bonnoront
Alec graduated from Virginia Tech in 2019 with a degree in Food Science and a minor in Viticulture. While in college he spent a summer working vineyards in Bordeaux and a year at Beliveau Estate in Blacksburg. After graduation, Alec moved to California to work with E&J Gallo on their Research Winemaking team and a small winery in the Livermore Valley, Wood Family Vineyards. After four years in California, he returns to Virginia to be a part of the Michael Shaps team.
When not in the cellar, Alec enjoys skiing and traveling with his wife.
Tara Clay
Born in the Northern Neck and graduating from UVA, Tara has a deep connection to both the water and mountains of Virginia, loving both the land and the people it nurtures. Since graduating, Tara has developed her career in varying industries – including healthcare, manufacturing, and now wine!
She came to Wineworks in 2023 loving to crunch numbers, improve processes, and a desire to serve a wonderful team of people. When she is not serving as controller of Michael Shaps Wineworks, she loves to read in the sun on a warm day, walk the family dog, and hang out with her family.