Winemaking Team

John began traveling to Europe at an early age where he was introduced to the culture of wine in France and Italy. He frequently visited the south of France where he spent time with his uncle, Richard Olney, the celebrated food and wine writer. While attending a language exchange program in Provence, he chose to pursue wine as a career and, in 1994, enrolled in enological studies at the Lycée Viticole in Burgundy to learn the craft of winemaking. Before coming to Ridge, John worked at Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant as well as with several European winemakers including Gérard Chave in the Rhône, Lucien Peyraud at Domaine Tempier and Aubert de Villaine of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. In 1996, John began work at Ridge’s Monte Bello Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In 1999, he was put in charge of the Lytton Springs Winery where he oversaw the construction of the innovative 17,000 square foot straw bale winery. In 2021, John was promoted to Head Winemaker & COO.

Trester brings a wealth of experience to Ridge with his extensive background in crafting mountain cabernet and single-vineyard zinfandel. He has a quarter-century of California winemaking experience. Prior to joining the Ridge Team in January 2022, Trester was the Winemaker at Robert Biale Vineyards where he focused on zinfandel, petite sirah, Bordeaux and Rhône varietals from heritage vineyards. Before his work at Robert Biale, he was Winemaker at Napa’s Krupp Brother’s Stagecoach Vineyard and worked in winemaking at both Ladera Vineyards and St. Clement Vineyards. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science from Humboldt State University in 1997.

Shauna brings a lifetime of winemaking experience with her to Ridge. Her father, Kent Rosenblum, of Rosenblum Cellars, introduced his winemaking passion to Shauna at an early age. In 2008, Rosenblum joined Rock Wall Wine Company as Winemaker. She directed a portfolio of over fifty grape contracts around California and oversaw all aspects of production on every lot of wine from crush to bottling. During her 14-year tenure at Rock Wall Wine Company, she rose to the rank of President and Chairperson of the Board of Directors.

A Northern California native, Mike discovered his passion for wine after receiving his bachelor’s degree from UC Davis. Having chosen English Literature as his preferred field of study instead of Enology however, he came to the wine world the way most liberal arts majors do: working in the restaurant industry. The natural beauty and world-class restaurants of Sonoma County drew Mike to Healdsburg in 2000. By 2003, his fascination with wine and winemaking inspired him to take the plunge and he accepted a cellar intern position at a small Dry Creek Valley winery. He quickly moved up to Assistant Winemaker and returned to school to earn an associate’s degree in Enology. Mike joined the Ridge team at the Lytton Springs location in 2014. He lives in Healdsburg with his family.