Co-General Manager and Winemaker Richard Sowalsky oversees all aspects of wine production at STWS. With extensive winemaking experience and a diverse educational background that includes enology, medicine and the culinary arts, Richard is well equipped to create intense yet balanced wines with true varietal character expressive of its individual terroir.

Richard previously spent two years as the winemaker at William Hill Estate, crafting benchland Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and mountain Chardonnay. Prior to that time, Sowalsky spent six years at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville as associate winemaker for the Bordeaux varieties. Sowalsky spent his first two years with Mondavi as a research enologist for the Woodbridge brand, before which he worked at other top wineries, including Handley Cellars in Philo, California, and Truchard Vineyards/Havens Wine Cellars in Napa.

\\\"I see winemaking as similar in some respects to jazz music: informed improvisation through a vision of individual style is key to success in either discipline,\\\" notes Sowalsky

His philosophy involves becoming attuned to the particulars of a vineyard site and using his vast body of knowledge as a starting point for approaching each unique lot of grapes. Sowalsky\\\'s passion for blending has been informed through many hours dedicated to tasting and experimenting with many hundreds of individual wine lots each vintage, resulting in a finely honed understanding of synergies achievable through this often-counterintuitive process. It is therefore not surprising that one of Sowalsky\\\'s greatest assets as a winemaker is his diverse academic background, which includes study in enology, food science, culinary arts, immunology and neurology.

In the course of his education, Sowalsky pursued degrees from such prestigious institutions as U.C. Davis, University of Maryland, California Culinary Academy and Amherst College. He is a published author and sits on the editorial review board of the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture. When not making wine or walking rows of vines, Sowalsky enjoys scuba diving, hiking and reading.