Position Title
Director of Business Partnerships, Wine & Travel
Ryan fell in love with wine on the Central Coast, where he worked as assistant winemaker at Grey Wolf Cellars (now Barton Family Wines) during college. Although a fan of many wines his all-time favorite is a 1983 Rieussec Sauternes that he served during a special Bordeaux themed dinner at Mustard Seed.
After graduating from of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's nascent wine program in 2008, Ryan worked in wine production, sales and marketing for nearly 20 years. He rode the startup rocket ship in San Francisco for a few years, including at Zendesk during their IPO in 2014. He moved to Davis in 2022 and opened a small wine shop and tasting room downtown called Wines in Tandem, where he met many UC Davis staff, students and alumni that introduced me to this amazing job.
Outside of working hours you’ll find Ryan biking around Davis with his wife, Casey, and three young children. And you’ll likely see him at the Saturday Farmer’s Market or the Nugget picking up in season produce for a delicious meal. UC Davis is a family institution. Ryan’s dad is a 1972 graduate of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and his in-laws are both UC Davis graduates as well.