Diana (she/her) lives for her passions, of which she has many. When trying to draw on the origin of her intrigue in the world of wine, she realizes how closely connected it is to food. Even in high school, when a friend brought over a bottle of Bordeaux from their parent's cellar, Diana pulled out the deli cold cuts and pre-sliced cheeses to make (the most generic) cheese and charcuterie plate to compliment the wine. However, the inexperienced tastebuds of teenagers had them spitting out the wine and dumping the bottle down the sink. Oh, the shame! She has since spent two decades honing her palate, testing her skills in naming the varietals and regions as well as assessing quality. She is a certified Spanish Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Scholar from the Wine Scholar Guild and WSET Level 3. Diana is a wine educator at The Wine & Spirit Archive in Portland. The next adventure of learning is all that goes into winemaking by making her own which she started in 2019.
Diana loves to dance, attend live theatre, music, Blazer games and stand up comedy. Her favorite way to enjoy time off is spent leisurely cooking, outside in her own backyard or the beautiful lakes, rivers and trails of the Pacific Northwest. All good food is her favorite. She wants to travel everywhere and drink all the amazing wine on this planet.
A dream duo that has been cultivated over decades – welcome to Augustina Cellars, the collaboration derived from the enduring friendship of Diana Schultz and Lee McCollins. Their journey began at a summer church camp in the mid-'90s, and since that fateful meeting, Diana and Lee have been steadfast companions, their bond strengthened by shared values of compassion, service, and an unwavering appreciation for life's finer moments.
Augustina Cellars is more than a winery; it's a testament to the enduring power of a friendship rooted in shared experiences. Lee watched Diana leaning into her passion to learn winemaking by doing and encouraged her to share them with the world. Lee has always had an entrepreneur energy, an eye for business and natural design talent.
As you explore the wines of Augustina Cellars, you're not just savoring the fruits of a vineyard; you're experiencing the culmination of a friendship that has weathered the years and grown richer with time. Join us on this journey as Camp Augustina, where every bottle tells a story of enduring friendship, shared joy, and the pursuit of dreams.
Our goal in designing the labels for Augustina Cellars was to highlight the native flora of the Pacific Northwest, use colors that visually articulate the flavor profiles of each wine, and showcase the work of artist Katy G. Collier.
A dear friend of Diana and Lee’s since high school in Albany, OR, Katy is a prolific artist of multiple mediums. Now an Assistant Professor of Art at Guilford College in Greensboro, NC, Katy teaches printmaking, life drawing, and color theory, among other courses.
Katy hand-carves woodblocks for each design before individually applying ink colors and rolling them onto paper. Once Katy’s originals are completed, she scans and sends them to Lee for the final graphic layout.