Susan and Russell met in 1982 while backpacking in New Zealand. After only a week together Russell returned to his hometown of Perth, Western Australia for the upcoming harvest season. Captivated by this Australian winemaker, Sue followed Russ to Perth a few months later and the two have been traveling the world together ever since. Married in 1985 and after 5 years living and working in wine regions up and down the East Coast, the two moved to Long Island in 1990 where they raised their two girls—Shelby & Kylie. Susan developed her passion and knowledge of wines in her 30’s. Being married to a winemaker she was exposed to the intricacies of the winemaking process, inspiring her in 2008 to launch her own label Suhru Wines, a name derived from her first name Susan, her husband and Suhru Wines winemakers first name Russell and their last name Hearn. To enhance her knowledge of wines and winemaking, she has toured the wine regions of France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, California, Virginia, and New York. Sue is attracted to fresh, vibrant wines, including aromatic crisp whites and more fruit-forward red wines. Her goal is to make excellent, approachable wines that are a little different from the mainstream. Russell has made extensive contributions to the New York wine industry over the past three decades with his wines garnering extensive critical acclaim and industry wide respect. His innovative winemaking style has influenced the quality of many wineries in our region, none more so than Pellegrini Vineyards, Lieb Cellars, Bridge Lane & Suhru Wines. Australian born, he grew up around wine as his mother was in the business. Russell started his career in Western Australia and has taken his training with him throughout his journey with experience gained working in New Zealand, France, and regions across the USA. Russell founded Premium Wine Group, a custom crush facility in 2000, bringing the first winery of its kind to the East Coast and resulting in an explosion of new wine brands and tasting rooms opening across the region. John & Renée, both native Long Islanders, met in 1992 and shortly thereafter relocated to Ithaca, NY where their passion for wine developed as the couple explored the wineries of the Finger Lakes. John and Renée were married in 1996 and after 4 years on the west coast for post-graduate training, they returned home to Long Island in 2000 to raise a family in the St. James-Setauket area where they both grew up and their families still reside. They have three children—Hannah, Jacob and Zachary. Dr. John Fondacaro is a native Long Islander, born and raised in St. James. A graduate of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, John is a board-certified veterinary internal medicine specialist, and co-founder of the Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island in West Islip. After 27 years of clinical practice, John retired from the veterinary profession to pursue a second career in wine. John received his winemaker certificate from University of California at Davis and is currently enrolled in the viticulture certification program at Washington State University. John’s passion for wine began early in life with his grandfather Rosario who made wine in the cellar of the family home as had been done for generations in Italy. Like most veterinary families, they have had a menagerie of pets and farm animals which is currently reduced to their flock of chickens and dogs—Lou and Minnie. The Fondacaro pets have all been rescued as the Fondacaros are enthusiastic supporters of animal welfare. The Fondacaros are also avid boaters and they enjoy spending their summers with family and friends enjoying the waters of Port Jefferson and Sag Harbor. Renée is a registered nurse, an internationally board-certified lactation consultant, and the founder and owner of the Old Field Apothecary which makes luxury small batch, hand-poured candles made of natural vegan wax. Renée maintains that the most important aspect of any business is always quality. With her candles as with wine, she remains focused on her customers' appreciation of quality ingredients. Renée was instilled with a love for wine by her father, Thomas Belleau, who was an enthusiast of French wine. Her love of wine further developed during her time living and working in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, where she worked in the tasting room of Knapp Vineyard. When not hand pouring candles or exploring the vineyard, Renée can be found traveling and exploring new places, enjoying nature, hosting friends and family at their home and creating and serving interesting food, wines, and cocktails. Shelby & Brad, met in 2018 just a few months after each separately had relocated from Brooklyn to their hometowns on Long Island, Brad for a teaching position and Shelby, to open the Suhru Wines tasting room. Brad quickly became enamored with the wine industry, inspiring a change of careers from teaching to wine. Brad and Shelby were married in the Lieb Vineyard in Cutchogue Spring of 2021 and live on the East End with their two adopted cats Kiki & Fergus and winery pup Rollo. A third generation wine professional and winemaker's daughter, she took an interest in the industry at a young age with some of her first memories visiting her dad at work at the winery. Shelby got her start in the industry in 2005 and has since worked in every aspect of the industry from tasting rooms to vineyards, sales, marketing & wholesale, and has spent her fair share of time dragging hoses, filling barrels and digging out tanks in the cellar. A WSET certified wine marketing professional and avid supporter and advocate for our region, Shelby has sat on the board of Long Island Wine Country as an officer since 2019, taking on the role of Vice President in 2022. Before returning to the North Fork to open the Suhru Wines Tasting House in 2018, Shelby lived in Brooklyn where she worked in digital consumer marketing at Penguin Random House and later running marketing efforts at Brooklyn Winery and its sister restaurant BKW by Brooklyn Winery. Brad developed a love of wine and the art of winemaking after meeting his now wife, Shelby Hearn Ulrich. After a successful career as a high school history teacher, Brad pursued a harvest internship at Premium Wine Group in Mattituck, NY in the Fall of 2019 and quickly realized his passion and natural aptitude for winemaking. Brad has been working at Premium Wine Group as part of the production team ever since. At the end of 2021 he was promoted to Cellar Master and now manages the cellar and cellar team. He holds a Fundamentals of Wine Chemistry certification, and has continued his wine education by attending a variety of regional and national professional conferences including BEVNY, Eastern Wine Expo, and UNIFIED. After several years of working under Russell on Suhru Wines, he took on the Assistant Winemaker role in the Spring of 2022. Brad has fully come into his own with the release of his first wine, a new addition to the Suhru portfolio—La Crescent—released in March 2023, which was awarded “Best in Class” and 93pts at the 2023 Eastern International Wine Competition. Three Couples, Two Labels, One Shared Love of Wine
Meet the Hearns
Susan Hearn, Director of Operations & Partner
Russell Hearn, Head Winemaker & Partner
Meet the Fondacaros
John Fondacaro, Director of Viticulture & Partner
Renée Fondacaro, Brand Manager & Partner
Meet the Ulrichs
Shelby Hearn Ulrich, General Manager & Partner
Brad Ulrich, Assistant Winemaker & Partner