Warehouse & Logistics Manager
As a seventh generation Californian of pioneer families from both the Central Valley and Santa Barbara wine country, Greg has realized with time and experience that, despite growing up in Southern California, he is a truly a Northern Californian!
A Fisheries major at Humboldt State University on the north coast of California, Greg attended classes while working a local, juvenile oyster production facility during the day. At night, jobs in local restaurants took him up the hospitality ladder, from dishwasher to lead cook. After graduating with a degree in Marine Aquaculture and armed with restaurant experience, Greg and his wife Gretchen moved to the Bay Area to start an oyster farm on Tomales Bay, in Marin County.
The oyster farm was launched in the early 1990s. During the set-up time, Greg worked for restaurants in Marin County at night while establishing the farm and planting oysters during the day. Unfortunate luck arrived during the first harvest and the farm had to be sold. Because of the night jobs, Greg befriended a local chef who was on the rise. Greg became his Sous-Chef, and they made the move to the San Francisco restaurant scene. In addition to cooking, Greg was running the business side of all the kitchens in which he worked.
A second son arrived in 1998 and it was time to get a “real” job (one where he was home at night!). Luckily, Greg was quickly hired as the Purchasing Director at the Sir Francis Drake hotel on Union Square in San Francisco, a very busy food and beverage property with both a high-profile restaurant and nightclub. Adding the position of Wine Director to his title, Greg was able to take advantage of the many educational opportunities the wine industry provided. It was here he realized his appreciation and fascination with wine. This is also where he had his first experience with Williams Selyem. He and the Chef drove to the winery one afternoon and bought Williams Selyem wines for the restaurant out of what was the original old shed.
In 2009, after accepting the position of Purchasing Director at the Culinary Institute of America-Greystone in St Helena, Napa Valley, the family moved to the Sonoma wine country. After 5 years at the Culinary Institute, a desire to get back into the wine business led to multiple positions in every aspect of wine inventory and shipping. This all culminated in arriving at Williams Selyem in December of 2019.
Greg is honored to bring all his food, beverage, hospitality (and logistics!) experience to such an incredible winery.
Spring 2021 Newsletter