Quentin Mylet

WINEMAKER

Quentin’s passion for wine was sparked on a trip to Italy when he was eighteen years old. His late grandfather and namesake took his family on a tour of Tuscany, during which he fell in love with the cuisine and wine. He has fond memories of climbing out onto the red clay roof of the villa to sip rosé and soak in the infectious harvest atmosphere of the surrounding vineyards and olive orchards. Since then, his fascination with wine has only increased year by year with each new layer of understanding.

Before moving to Walla Walla, Quentin divided most of his time between learning the ropes at a small winery in Woodinville, WA and earning a living in the tech industry. His experience and thirst for knowledge led him to explore the Enology and Viticulture program at Walla Walla Community College. Pleased with what they found and after earnestly praying about where they were supposed to be, Quentin and his wife, Kristen, decided to leave the Seattle area to pursue a spot in the EV program and a career in the wine industry. After arriving, Quentin threw himself into his studies and began working and learning with various wineries and vineyards in the valley. Because of his hard work and success in the program, he has earned recognition in the industry, including the Leonetti, Dr. Walter J. Clore, and John Farmer scholarships.

Since joining the Tertulia family in March, Quentin has split his time working in our tasting room with Jordan, in our vineyards with Ryan Driver, and our cellar with Ryan Raber. Given his success in school, experience in other wineries, and familiarity with our operations it was a natural progression to bring him on board as our new winemaker.

Quentin and his wife share a passion for wine, home-grown food, walking instead of driving, and children. Their two eldest children, Eli (6 years) and Sofia (3 years) have adapted beautifully to the move to Walla Walla, and Sofia in particular enjoys a good red wine (a finger drop at a time, of course!). They fully expect their newest arrival, Madeleine (2 months) to follow in her siblings’ footsteps!

Stevie Johnson

SALES & MARKETING DIRECTOR

Stevie joins Tertulia Cellars with over 15 years experience in many aspects of the wine business. She first fell in love with the vine in Paso Robles California. She lived in the hills of the San Lucia range, where she would often take long walks in the vineyards. She volunteered for several harvests and loved to watch the grapes grow. Stevie came to Seattle in 1995 and began her journey as a Wine Buyer. Stevie was a wine director & manager for hotels and restaurants in Seattle and Hawaii. She migrated to wine sales while living in Hawaii. There she discovered her love of representing wines from all over the world. She became especially fond of the old world style. France, Italy and Spain became her main focuses. After returning to Seattle in 2002 she continued her Sales experience in Western Washington and holds strong relationships throughout the 1-5 corridor. As the Washington wine industry grew, she discovered more and more the world class wines the state was producing. So she set her sites to focus locally. That’s how she discovered Tertulia Cellars. Stevie is looking forward to the growth and positioning Tertulia Cellars is about to embark on. She is fun-loving, high energy and well organized. We are thrilled she joined our team and we know you will be too.

Stevie resides in Walla Walla with her husband Brett and two boys, Jackson 6 and Graham 3 1/2. As a family they enjoy ice hockey, swimming, hiking, riding bikes and general goofing around.

Ryan Driver

VINEYARD MANAGER

Ryan Driver has lived the majority of his life in the Walla Walla Valley. Born in Iowa, Ryan moved with his family to Walla Walla at the age of two. He has always had a love for the outdoors and has worked with the land from a very young age. This passion came from his grandfather whose farm in Iowa has been in the family for over 100 years. Ryan started working for Klicker Strawberry farms at age 12. Over the next twelve years he dedicated his time to learning many aspects of the operation - from picking and delivering, to maintaining and operating equipment.

Ryan studied Mechanical Engineering at Eastern Washington University. In 2005 he began work as a Trial Manager for Bejo Seed Company where he maintained seed trials for many different crops on approximately 1,200 acres and worked closely with many farmers throughout the Columbia Basin and the Pacific Northwest. While Ryan loved his work with Bejo, he had a growing interest in the escalating wine business in Walla Walla. He decided to pursue his passion for agriculture in a different field. Enrolling in the Enology and Viticulture program at Walla Walla Community College was the obvious first step for his career. Shortly after beginning the program, Ryan accepted the position of Vineyard Manager at Tertulia Cellars.

Ryan resides in Walla Walla with his wife Maria, and their daughter Sofia.

Ryder Schwartz

Tasting Room Manager

Ryder Schwartz comes to us after getting a BS in Social Work and a Wine Trade Professional Certification from Central Washington University. Raised on a horse ranch in Snoqualmie, Washington Ryder's passions include training and riding horses, travel, and, of course, wine.

   All this is a part of her heritage. Ryder comes from a horse loving, wine loving, and travel loving family. She has been teaching children to ride since she was thirteen and has rounded up horses in Montana, hiked throughout Alaska, and visited Canada, Costa Rico, Mexico, Africa, Ecuador and the Galapagos, Paris and Southern France, Ireland, England, Rome ,Hawaii, the Greek islands, Australia, New Zealand  and visited wineries in Chile and Argentina.  That said, she has fallen in love with Walla Walla and the exhilaration of tasting fine wines and introducing them to people who appreciate the artistry of passionate and talented vintners.

  Ryder is a delight to know. Open, honest, enthusiastic and ever friendly and helpful, she is an important addition to our team. She can't wait to meet you and share this year’s vintage with you. Stop in and become friends!