A California native, Marla grew up in the Tehachapi Mountains, which separate the Southern California high desert and the rich agricultural lands of the Central Valley. It was growing up exploring the outdoors that lay the foundation for her interest in viticulture that ultimately shape its expression in the wine. After obtaining her degree from the University of California at Davis, Marla’s first foray into wine production was as a harvest lab intern at Charles Krug. After falling in love with wine production she began working at Franciscan Estate, moving up in a series of roles before eventually taking on the role as Winemaker in 2013. Marla joined the Antinori Estate in Napa Valley—Antica—in April 2018 where she works closely with CEO and chief enologist Renzo Cotarella and estate manager Glenn Salva to create Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from their Estate vineyard at 1,500 feet atop Atlas Peak. Marla has first-hand experience working through the challenges of smoke-impacted wines from the both the 2017 and 2020 vintages.