Winemaking Consultant

Steve became fascinated with wine while working in a restaurant during college. After the owner retired, Steve became the wine specialist for the restaurant. He graduated with a BS in Plant Science from Stetson University, entered the wine business in the Finger Lakes of New York, and has since enjoyed 47 harvests (plus one in Chile). Many gallons of wine have passed under his nose.

Steve worked with Guy DeVaux and Charles Fournier at Gold Seal Vineyards (owned by Seagrams), with their excellent sparkling wines, from the late ‘70’s to the mid ‘80’s. He then worked with high quality red hybrids at Bully Hill Vineyards. He was an assistant winemaker at Glenora Wine Cellars in the late ‘80’s, as part of an ambitious expansion program with an emphasis in sparkling wines. He became winemaker at Lucas Vineyards in the early ‘90’s and helped expand production in high quality sparkling and still wines.

Steve returned to Glenora in 1995 and helped expand its reputation and production. In 2000, the owners of Glenora purchased Knapp Winery, and Steve was responsible for production at both wineries. Riesling is at the forefront of production, along with other aromatic white viniferas, sparkling wines, and red viniferas, as well as hybrids and natives.

During Steve’s career he has been involved in scale-ups, scale-backs, acquisitions, start-ups, and shutdowns. His wines have won over 450 gold medals in regional, national, and international competitions. He has made over 60 professional presentations in the Northeast and Midwest. He has judged in wine competitions from California to New York to Virginia.

In 2022, Steve was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Eastern Winery Exposition.

Steve retired from Glenora during the summer of 2021, and is now available as a winemaking consultant. He has several clients in the Finger Lakes, Pennsylvania, NJ, and Long Island. He is a Vice President for the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association.