Robin Epperson-McCarthy - Founder & Winemaker

Robin’s winemaking career started when she took a harvest job in the lab at Premium Wine Group in Cutchogue, NY while studying for her medical school entrance exams. That one vintage led her away from a career in medicine and toward a career in winemaking. She has traveled the globe honing her winemaking skills and developing her signature style across Long Island, New Zealand, Tasmania, and Santa Barbara.

In 2014, she founded Saltbird Cellars with a single bottling of Sauvignon Blanc and over the next twelve years she expanded her portfolio to seven wines including her signature Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc and single varietal North Fork Merlot.

In 2017, she teamed up with winemaker Alie Shaper (As If Wines) to open the Chronicle Wines tasting room, a collective showcasing the wines of both winemakers. Located in Peconic, NY, Chronilcle Wines became a staple in the Long Island Wine Country community. After Alie moved her brand to McLaren Vale, Australia, Robin teamed up with Beth Santosuosso and the next chapter of Saltbird Cellars is taking flight.

 

Beth Santosuosso - Owner & General Manager

Beth found her way into the wine industry as a second career. After graduating from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a Masters in Business Administration in 2006, she spent the next twenty years in the investment banking industry.

Her interest in wine started while wine tasting on the North Fork of Long Island and in 2016 she started pursuing her WSET certifications at the International Wine Center in Manhattan, NY while working at Societe Generale. After completing her WSET Level III certfication in 2018, she started her journey into a second career taking a seasonal tasting room Associate position with Suhru Wines in Cutchogue, NY and later working as their Finance Director.

Beth first came to Saltbird Cellars as a wine club member and fan of Robin’s winemaking. In 2026, the opportunity arose to team up with Robin on the next chapter of Saltbird Cellars and a second career has taken flight.