Our Team

Founder and Owner

Bill Stoller

BILL STOLLER spent the first few weeks of his life here on the property and was raised on the family farm outside of Dayton, Oregon. He received a degree in business and economics from Pacific University, as well as an MBA from Portland State University. In 1983, Bill co-founded Express Employment Professionals, currently the largest privately-held staffing company in the world, with more than 800 offices in three countries. In 2001, he founded Xenium, a human resources outsource company. Success in business has enabled Bill to pursue his passion of wine and to contribute to his community.

True to his Oregon upbringing, Bill sees himself as a custodian of the land he loves, and cares deeply about sustainability and environmental protection. Driven by these values, he sought to create a business that would last for the next two centuries and beyond.

President

Gary Mortensen

As president, Gary brings to Stoller Family Estate thirteen years of senior leadership in the Oregon wine industry. As a start-up veteran he brings a passion for bleeding-edge technology and pushing boundaries. As a devoted historian, he is committed to preserving and sharing our nation’s diversity and heritage. He is also an active foundation board member of the Technology Association of Oregon, and is helping to found “Innovation Academies” for kids. Gary is an award-winning director of two documentary films telling the stories of Oregonians who served in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Vice President of Winemaking

Melissa Burr

Melissa Burr was raised in the Willamette Valley. After completing her Bachelor of Science degree, Melissa intended to practice naturopathic medicine before discovering her true passion was in wine. She studied winemaking and fermentation science at OSU and interned during harvest for several local wineries before becoming production winemaker for Cooper Mountain. In 2003, Melissa joined Stoller Family Estate as the winery’s first dedicated winemaker.

In her 14-year tenure with Stoller, Melissa has worked in concert with the vineyard team to oversee the site’s continued refinement. She has helped grow production from 1,000 cases to 60,000 while acting as a steward of Stoller’s legacy.

In 2013, Melissa partnered with Stoller to launch History, a brand dedicated to paying homage to historic vineyards in the Pacific Northwest. The collection will continue to evolve, as she tells more stories about these esteemed vineyards and the people who started them.

Melissa enjoys the creative and natural process of winemaking and the dynamic nature of the Oregon wine industry. The constant evolution of every new vintage pushes her to learn more about her craft.

Vice President of Vineyard Operations

Jason Tosch

A native of Oregon’s Tualatin Valley, Jason Tosch has made his career farming premium quality wine grapes in the Willamette Valley, most recently at Anne Amie Vineyards.  He has served in leadership roles for the Oregon wine industry’s wine research and sustainability-focused communities. Jason earned his degree in horticulture from Oregon State University, focusing on small fruits and berries. His high level of industry involvement led his alma mater to honor Jason with the College of Agricultural Sciences Luminary Award for early professional accomplishment in 2010. And, in 2016 the Oregon Wine Board presented him with the Outstanding Industry Service Award.

Vice President of Business Development

James Falvey

Born and raised in southeast Portland, James holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a focus in sports marketing from the University of Oregon. James worked with the Portland Trail Blazers before joining us at Stoller Family Estate. He fell in love with the winery the first time he drove up to the estate and saw the breathtaking approach.

Vice President of National Sales

Bill Hanson

Bill brings more than 25 years of wine industry experience to Stoller. He has served as past Chair of the Board of Directors as well as Marketing Committee Chair for LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology), the leading certifier of sustainable vineyards and wineries in the Pacific Northwest. Bill has held Certified Wine Educator’s accreditation through the Society of Wine Educators since 2007. In addition to his extensive wine management experience, Bill also brings the skills of a winegrower, as Bill and his wife Linda are owners of Libra Vineyard.

Vice President of Finance

Steve Caldwell

Steve, a native Oregonian, graduated from OSU with a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting. Prior to joining Stoller, Steve was the CFO of Willamette Valley Vineyards.

Director of Winemaking Operations

Ben Howe

Born and raised in the Midwest, Ben received his Bachelor’s degree in Fermentation Sciences from Oregon State University. Ben has winemaking experience in New Zealand, India, Oregon, and California. In 2015, after climbing the ranks at King Estate, he joined Stoller Family Estate to bolster the production of the Dundee Hills wine tier and build a new winemaking facility for those wines.

In 2018, Ben was promoted to Director of Winemaking Operations. Under his leadership, the winemaking team launch the Canned Oregon and Chemistry brands. Ben believes that a winemaker’s job is to be as transparent as possible and let the vineyard shine through. To that end, he enjoys making Pinot Noir and Chardonnay as they lend themselves to this style of winemaking.

Winemaker

Kate Payne-Brown

Raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Kate came to Oregon for her undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon. She studied science and was intending to work in the Optometry field. However, shortly after graduation the allure of the wine industry changed the course of her career, and she moved to Australia to study at the University of Adelaide, where she completed her Master’s degree in Oenology. After a couple of years making Shiraz and Cabernet, she moved back to Oregon to work for Archery Summit, where she remained for over six years as the Assistant Winemaker. In 2014, she left to work for a French winemaking consultancy and is now thrilled to be a part of the wonderful team at Stoller Family Estate.

Viticulturist

Erica Miller

Erica has lived in Oregon her whole life — growing up in Dufur. She graduated from Oregon State University with a degree in horticulture with an emphasis in viticulture and enology. While at Oregon State, she worked for two years in the Viticulture Research Lab under Dr. Patty Skinkis. Projects included Pinot Noir fruitfulness studies, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay crop estimate studies, and the Statewide Crop Load Trial.

As a viticulturist, Erica Miller oversees production and quality standards across 585-estate-acres for the Stoller Wine Group. In her role, Erica manages logistics for farming and fruit production. With an emphasis on maintaining and improving quality standards, Erica implements scientific research to adjust farming practices while adhering to sustainable best practices in order to lower outside inputs on the vineyards.

Director of National Brands

Cory Davis

Cory joined Stoller as our national sales manager in the fall of 2005. He fell in love with Pinot Noir during his three-year stay in France, and moved to Oregon in the mid-90s, drawn by the natural beauty and burgeoning potential of the Pacific Northwest wine scene. Prior to joining Stoller, Cory worked as a distributor of some of the world’s finest wines.

Wine Club Manager

Tyler Bender

Born and raised in Colorado, Tyler was first introduced to fine wines while working for Sonny Lubick Steakhouse in Fort Collins. Officially bitten by the wine bug, he passed his level two sommelier certification and then enrolled in the enology and viticulture program at Walla Walla Community College in Washington state. After graduating, he moved back to Colorado and began selling fine wines for one of Denver’s top distributors, where he gained a firm understanding of the retail side of the business. While Colorado is great for skiing, there’s no place like the Pacific Northwest with its vast array of landscapes and outstanding wines. Eager to return, Tyler initially  joined the Stoller team for harvest 2018. He’s thrilled to now be working with the hospitality and wine club teams. 

Tasting Room Manager

Victor Panichkul

Victor was born in Bangkok, and grew up in Thailand, Singapore and the United States. He studied international politics and journalism at Baylor University and spent 30 years working as a journalist for major newspapers in Texas, Baltimore, and Washington D.C. He moved to Oregon in 2002 with his partner of 25 years and fell in love with Oregon wines. After covering the industry for 14 years as a wine, food, and beer columnist, he left journalism and joined the wine industry that he has come to love.

Sales and Education Manager

Devin Andolsen

Devin Andolsen grew up in vineyards, helping build and plant his family’s 11 acres in Northern California’s Dry Creek Valley. He has more than 12 years of experience as a wine professional; this includes five years in fine dining as an Advanced Sommelier. He has managed Constellation’s Fine Wine division for Northern California, and Jackson Family’s Spire portfolio for the West Coast. He also helped manage a small international distributor out of San Francisco, as well as the wine program at the famed Allison Inn & Spa. Devin and his wife moved to the Willamette Valley in 2014, where they planted a vineyard with just over 11 acres of Pinot and Chardonnay. In addition to being a professional wine judge, Devin attempted the rigorous Master Sommelier exam in 2016. With the support of his wife and encouragement from his two Golden retriever children, he continues to pursue the coveted wine credential.

Director of Consumer Relations

Shani Hodge

A native of Montana, Shani followed her heart to Oregon in 2002. Formerly in the restaurant wine business, Shani sought a wine industry position closer to the “source,” and chose Oregon for its beauty, culture, and fine Pinot Noir. Shani brings us over a decade of hospitality experience in the Oregon wine industry managing tasting rooms, wine clubs, and winery events.

Culinary Director

Becca Richards

Becca started cooking for fun as a kid, destroying her mother’s kitchen in an array of extravagant sandwich and pasta creations for her friends. It wasn’t until Becca turned 19 that she started down the culinary path. Hostess, busser, dishwasher, waiter, line cook, baker, sous chef, bartender, bar manager, chef, Becca did everything she could in the restaurant industry to learn the business. 

After several years of hard work and sweat, Becca gained the speed and confidence that pushed her to move to New York City. In 2010, she joined the team at Recette in Greenwich Village in spite of not having any NYC experience. She then went to Flex Mussels and eventually became the savory chef teaming up with the pastry chef. 

From there, Becca realized her dream and attended culinary school at International Culinary Center (formerly the French Culinary Institute) where she graduated with honors while working as a captain at Lincoln. The day of graduation, Becca was offered a job as the Sous chef at the Lion and eventually worked to take over as the Chef d’ Cuisine.

In 2017, Becca moved to Oregon to be closer to her family. Shortly after that, she joined Stoller Family Estate. In her role, Becca creates dishes that showcase the harmony between locally-sourced food and wine for wine club events.  

Events Coordinator

Kyle Stoller

Growing up on our estate, Kyle has worked with almost every department. He helped the vineyard, assisted with building a fence, cleaned barrels in the cellar, organized pallets in the warehouse, and treated guests to world-class hospitality in the tasting room. But, it was in producing events that Kyle has found his passion. He is most excited about executing ideas into fruition, no matter how intimate or grand. Kyle enjoys coordinating an ever-changing daily roster of tasks, all of which center around bringing people together with wine.

Communications Director

Michelle Kaufmann

Michelle Kaufmann, a Portland, Oregon native, earned her degree in journalism from the University of Oregon, focusing on public relations and communications. Prior to joining Stoller Family Estate, she served as communications manager for the Oregon Wine Board for six years. Michelle currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Pinot Noir Celebration and marketing committee for the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. In her role, Michelle oversees all media relations and communications efforts for the Stoller Family Estate, Chehalem, and History wine brands. 

Marketing Director

Jenna LaCroix

Jenna LaCroix first fell in love with Tuscan wine while studying abroad in Italy during her junior year at the University of Oregon. Degree in hand, she set out to explore Oregon’s flourishing wine world, spending eight years working in the southern Willamette Valley in various roles within the industry. She relocated to Portland in early spring 2017 to accept the position at Chehalem, and eventually, the Stoller Wine Group. Jenna spends her free time planning visits to countries around the world and enjoying the great Oregon outdoors with her chocolate lab, Luna.

Creative Director

Austin Raz

As a native Oregonian with family roots in Newberg, Austin has had his eye on the wine industry for quite some time. Austin has worked for two of the world’s most influential brands at Nike and MTV, and studied New Media Communications at Oregon State University. What drew Austin to Stoller was the team’s vision of innovation and sustainability towards the environment, community, and economy. He is excited to bring his unique perspective into a creative role.