Maura Kinsella’s path from Webster Groves to Sonoma County winds through Belgium, Spain, France, New Zealand, and Chile. Once a professional cyclist on the U.S. National Team, Kinsella experienced both the triumphs and heartbreaks of international competition. It was from racing through the vineyards across Europe that she piqued her interest in wine. “I was passing all these vineyards at 30 miles an hour with the rest of the cyclists, and I started to have more of a curiosity,” she recalls.
With a bachelor’s in biology, she decided to put off going to medical school to learn more about the wine industry. At the suggestion of a winemaker, Kinsella traveled to New Zealand to work a harvest and ensure it was something she wanted to pursue before starting a master’s program. “It was fantastic advice, to make sure I understood the super physical, grape-covered, hose-dragging reality of it,” she says.
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In New Zealand, she and her two colleagues brought in 200 tons of mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Because the crew was so small, Kinsella was exposed to all aspects of the harvest, from lab work to wine movements. “I think everyone’s first harvest is an eye-opening experience,” she says. “You’re learning everything from A to Z in terms of hose sanitation and how to prep a tank to receive grapes.”
Kinsella later enrolled in the master’s program with the Bordeaux Sciences Agro at the University of Bordeaux, where she had internships at Château Palmer in Margaux and Établissements Jean-Pierre Moueix in Bordeaux. With limited French when she began, Kinsella memorized the questions and answers that she predicted they would ask her at the first interview. “I think they just liked the cycling story and hired me based on that,” she says with a laugh.
At Château Palmer, Kinsella encountered biodynamic farming for the first time. This approach is at the heart of her work in Sonoma. “It’s thinking about the vineyard as a holistic system and building up the immune system of the entire plant instead of constantly treating problems,” she explains. “Everything becomes a lot more precise and alive, which I really like.”
After four months at Emiliana organic vineyards in Chile and a stint at Eisele Vineyard in Calistoga, she joined Hamel Family Wines, a biodynamic farm in Sonoma.
Kinsella sees clear parallels between cycling and working in wine. “There is a real camaraderie in the team, especially around harvest, when we’re all working toward one goal,” she says. “It’s physically exhausting. We’re working 12-plus hours a day six days a week for many months. You really have to have trust in your team. But you’re surrounded by passionate people. It’s motivating to be around that kind of energy.”
Cycling and wine have taken Kinsella across the globe, and she’d love to one day explore the wine regions of Greece and Georgia. When she’s back home in St. Louis, you’re likely to find her sipping wine at Olive + Oak, Parker’s Table, or Sasha’s.
“It’s a global industry,” she shares. “Wine is a connector, and it makes you realize that we’re really quite similar to all these people around the world.”
