Our Team


Mark West, Winemaker

Mark is a vital component of the Rominger West collaboration.  His background includes a BS from UC Berkeley, a PhD from John Hopkins School of Medicine and more than 14 years of winemaking experience.  Mark grew up in Davis and has returned with a passion for handcrafted, artisan wine and a dedication to the local community.  He has a love for music and spent 4 years as a percussionist in the University of California Marching Band (yes, he was one of those crazy Cal Band kids). Mark can be found all over the winery doing a variety of tasks, but one of his favorite duties (besides making the wine, of course) is leading tours and tastings.  He loves interacting with customers and having the opportunity to share his connection with each of our Rominger West wines; especially our Rose which he claims to make solely for his own personal enjoyment.  He can be found sipping on a cool glass of Rose almost every day during the lunch hour.  Mark and his family reside in Davis.


bruce Rominger, Winegrower

Bruce brings fruit to the Rominger West table…literally!  Bruce, his wife Robyn and 3 children reside in Winters, CA where Bruce oversees the production and harvest of our delicious grapes.  With many different types of grapes to watch over (Syrah, Malbec, Tannat, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Semillon, the list goes on…) as well as the Rominger Brother’s Farm operations, Bruce keeps himself very busy.  His B.S. in Plant Science from UC Davis has proved quite helpful as he and his brother Rick have continued to implement more sustainable growing and production practices on the farm.  On the rare occasion that he has some time to relax, Bruce enjoys hiking with his family, cheering on the SF Giants and listening to some good ole 70’s rock n’ roll!

 

 

Rick Rominger, Winegrower

Rick Rominger is a fifth generation Yolo County farmer and a graduate of U.C. Davis with a B.S. in Ag Economics and Business Management. After school, he was a volunteer with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic for two years before returning to the family farm. Along with wine grapes, Rick farms rice, wheat, sunflowers, alfalfa, corn and tomatoes. He lives on the ranch north of Winters with his wife Patty and their two daughters.


 

Andrea Connally, Enologist

Andrea is our enologist here at Rominger West, but a better job title would be Super-Woman.  Andrea can be found anywhere in the winery doing a variety of tasks, from driving a forklift to pouring wine at the tasting bar, she is our go-to girl! Andrea graduated from UC Davis with a B.S. in Viticulture and Enology in 2009 and declares that she chose to major in V and E because wine is just so darn yummy.  She found Rominger West through the glorious website Craigslist, and she says that she loves her job, the people, and most importantly, the constant availability of wine and cheese! She is the music junky that has us ever expanding our musical selection in the tasting room, from reggae to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Andrea likes to relax on her days off by watching some football and slamming on some tunes while playing Guitar Hero.  During one of her first days with us, Andrea was working in the cellar when she turned the rheostat in the wrong direction.  This means that a gushing flow of wine began to pour out from directly above her…let us just say that we are glad she didn’t get pulled over on her drive home that night because she reeked of wine.





Zaryna Gossell, Tasting room manager

If you have ever visited Rominger West Winery for a taste of Yolo’s finest wine, you have undoubtedly experienced the cheer of Ms. Zaryna Gossell, our tasting room manager.  Zaryna began her experience with the Rominger West crew as a curious newbie to the wine making process.  She saw the job opening and thought it was the perfect opportunity to learn more about the delicious beverage that she had grown to love.  As our tasting room manager, Zaryna has the opportunity to meet all of our new friends as they enter the winery.  She says that she loves her job because what other job pays you to talk to people and drink wine all day!?  On her days off, Zaryna likes to relax, order some pizzas and watch a few movies or an SF Giants game with her best bud Cody, a 1 year old golden retriever.  A little secret she divulged is her habit of changing her name when making reservations or talking on the phone!  She claims that her real name, Zaryna is too unusual…we all think she is an undercover secret agent with duel identities.  When asked if she has a favorite Rominger West wine, her response was “Every time of the day demands a different wine: Breakfast with Rose, Lunch with Rominger Ranch White, and Dinner with Yolo County Syrah.”  Join Zaryna in the tasting room and she will help you create your perfect meal pairings!





Patricia tompkins, Business development

Patricia is the youngest of the bunch, a fresh 21 years old this year, however not a stranger to the wine gig.  She held her first winery internship at 19 and joined the Rominger West crew at the age of 20.  She is very close to completing her degree in Managerial Economics from UC Davis and plans on graduating this June (fingers crossed)!  Patricia says that her entry into the wine industry was inevitable as she is a die-hard foodie and nothing pairs with food than a nice bottle (yes, bottle…not glass) of wine.  She spent last spring studying Spanish in Mendoza, Argentina while learning about the Argentinean culture, music, food and, of course, wine.  Patricia loves to be active: hiking, camping, soccer, floor hockey, and running are all common pastimes.  She is known to enjoy a good dance party, especially one that includes the hits from the 80’s. Patricia grew up surrounded by agriculture and learned early on in life that “God made dirt and dirt don’t hurt!” With a father in farming and grandparents in the cattle business, she spent a lot of time in wranglers and boots.  For a touch of hick and a bit of wino, come in and meet Patricia!







Stephanie olsen, events planner and wine club specialist

Who do you get when you mix a BA in Psychology, Mexican food, the LA Dodgers (Yes, this is causing a massive rift in the office) and a love of wine?  That would be our new Marketing Intern Stephanie!  Stephanie has been quite busy the past few weeks arranging events, advertising and searching for new media outlets.  Her interest in wine was sparked by an introductory Viticulture and Enology course at UC Davis and it was sealed by her time studying abroad in Siena, Italy where the beverage of choice was, of course, wine.  As a child she never imagined herself working at a winery, rather she had big dreams of being a backup dancer for Britney Spears.  On a lazy Sunday Stephanie loves to BBQ with friends, sip wine and relax.  Her passion for wine is only matched by that of her passion for cooking.  Stephanie is a Food Network junkie.  Due to this love, her favorite holidays are Thanksgiving and Christmas since she gets the opportunity to cook and bake until everyone is uncomfortably stuffed!  She also has a not-so-secret love of Mexican food.  She hopes to get a lab or husky puppy someday and name it Kahlua or Bailey (hmm…interesting name choices).  So next time you visit the winery and smell a gooey cheese enchilada or vegetarian burrito, say hi to Stephanie!  She’s happy to meet you!


 

 

 

 

 

Rich Coppa, Graphic Designer

If it’s catchy, flashy and attractive (no we are not talking about ourselves), then it is most certainly the wonderful design work of our in-house designer Rich Coppa!  Rich joined the Rominger West crew in response to a desperate plea for graphic design assistance by the RW team.  Rich is a big fan of Syrahs, so it was inevitable that he would find his way to Yolo County’s finest Syrah producer.  With a BS in Graphic Design from CSU Sacramento, Rich was ready to create some ingeniously clever graphics for the Rominger West crew.  He is the artist behind our new fliers, advertisements and the soon to be released tasting room notes and wine spec sheets!  When Rich isn’t designing or drinking Syrah, he can be found at home with his lovely pit bull, Gina (aka Beef), watching the Dallas Cowboys dominate the football field as he chomps down on a juicy cheeseburger. 

 

 

 

 

Juliet Hartford, Cellar Worker 

If you happened to stop by the winery during our crush season, you may have seen this Rominger West team member knee deep in freshly pressed grapes.  Juliet joined the Rominger West crew at the beginning of summer 2009 as the crush intern, aka Champion Presser de Las Uvas!  Juliet began her college experience in Dallas, TX before transferring to Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo.  It is there that Juliet fell in love with the wine industry and immediately made the switch to UC Davis where she is now pursuing a degree in Viticulture and Enology.  On weekends Juliet can be seen out and about Davis on her daily runs or on a hike near Lake Berryessa.  She also enjoys rocking out to anything from country music to techno and is a faithful Giants fan!!  Juliet believes cereal can make a meal at any time of the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night…), yet she also appreciates delicious filet mignon and ahi tuna.  Juliet is a true animal lover and as a child she hoped to become a veterinarian.  She has a lab-terrior cross named Bellisa and 2 goldfish, Roopert and Zig-Zag.  She is joined the Rominger West team after meeting Mark at a job fair on the UCD campus and has had a lot of fun experiencing everything from sampling grapes, to barreling down!  She views every bottle of wine as a work of art that is unique and alive.  Next time you join us at the winery, look for Juliet! She may be behind the tasting bar or she may be jumping in between barrels.

 Alex Theg - Hospitality Coordinator

Alex joined the Rominger West team in June 2010 as a Hospitality Coordinator; however at times we believe that a more appropriate title may be “Zaryna’s Sidekick.”  You can spot Alex performing a number of tasks around the winery, from welcoming our wonderful guests to washing glasses and carrying cases of wine (it is so nice having some extra muscles around, no offense Mark).  He is quickly learning the ins and outs of the tasting room and has grown quite fond of the weekly live music.  This is probably because he is a trained musician, specializing in the saxophone, guitar and piano.  In his free time he enjoys jamming to some tunes as well as dancing to them. It is a very well kept secret (well, until now…) that Alex can salsa dance!  It is only a matter of time before we have him put on an impromptu show for us at the winery.  Alex was raised in Davis and graduated from Davis Senior High School in 2006 before making his way across the country for his college education.  4 years later and a BA in Political Science from Davidson College, NC, Alex finds himself back on the west coast with us!  Political science and the wine industry weren’t always on Alex’s mind.  As a child he dreamt of being an astronaut or a train engineer…maybe he could have invented a space train?  He is a diehard Sacramento Kings fan and the proud owner of Martin, a fierce Siamese Fighting Fish (although Alex swears he does not let him fight).  Join us at the winery for a glass of wine and meet Alex!