Paul Rogerville, Proprietor/Winemaker
After 25 years in the financial and corporate world, Paul spent the last 20 years of his career as owner of a successful construction company. Somewhere amidst running a business built on brick, concrete and plaster, he made the trek to Napa and thus began his love affair with grapes. In 1989, his friend Pat Smith introduced Paul to home winemaking and ten years later they made their first wine together.
Paul spent the majority of his free time over the past 15 years or so making wine and expanding his knowledge through classes at UC Davis, hands-on training and working with other accomplished winemakers. Paul sold his construction business in order to become a full-time vintner, his true passion.
Susie Eldred, Tasting Room/Wine Club Director
Susie has been wine tasting and collecting wine for 30+ years. Her first trip to Napa Valley in the mid 1980’s got her hooked. Now she can be found frequently looking for new gems to visit in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys and other wine regions as well. A recent trip to the Bordeaux region of France ignited her passion for French wine as well. Susie spent her career in law enforcement and after retiring, discovered Cuvée Wine Cellars and joined the club. “What, there’s a wine cellar in San Carlos?!” Soon after, she began helping out in the tasting room and then took over office and club operations when there was an opening (perfect part-time retirement job). Susie grew up in San Carlos and loves spreading the word to others who may not know about Cuvée and its great wines!
Kristin Byrnes, Tasting Room Associate
Kristin's enthusiasm for wine developed while growing up in the Yakima Valley, a burgeoning wine region in Central Washington. She moved to the Bay Area to attend Santa Clara University, where she received her undergraduate degree in Religious Studies. After living in Central America for a year, she returned to the area to complete her Masters in Divinity at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. She now teaches at a local high school and lives in San Carlos with her husband and two energetic boys. They regularly visit family in the Pacific Northwest, where Kristin looks forward to visiting the wineries. Working in the Cuvée tasting room is fulfilling a life-long dream, and she can’t wait to meet more Cuvée customers and enjoy the wines together.
Shahla Yazdy, Tasting Room Associate
Shahla grew up in the Bay Area and has been a San Carlos resident for the past 16 years. She has a Civil Engineer degree from Berkeley and manages design and construction projects for roads and highways on the Peninsula. She recently discovered the local wineries San Carlos has to offer and is thrilled to join the the team at Cuvée Wine Cellars, where she hopes to learn more about the wine industry and share her love of wine with customers. Shahla has a passion for collecting wines and visiting/tasting wine regions, from Paso Robles to the southern Oregon wine regions of Umpqua and Rogue Valleys, and everything in between.
Mitch Stewart, Tasting Room Associate
Mitch was a long time club member who became a tasting room associate. He has a love of wine and travels the world to discover new wine regions. He loves providing a great tasting room experience for our club members!
Farley Walker, Wordsmith
Farley began writing tasting notes for Cuvée Wine Cellars in 2011 and has been doing so ever since. She also managed the website redesign and continues to provide web content and coordination. Farley moved from her home state of Mississippi to California in 2006, hoping to put her master’s degree in creative writing to use in the wine business. She did just that, working at Thomas Fogarty Winery, Rosenblum Cellars, JJ Buckley Fine Wines, and Tessier Winery during her time in the Bay Area. She recently moved to Washington state with her husband Bryon, who makes wine, beer, and cider. They hope to grow apples and grapes on their farm and keep the tradition going.
Patrick Smith, Consulting Winemaker
Pat moved to the Bay Area to attend Menlo College and Stanford University in 1957 after a stint in the Marine Corps. He joined the banking world after a year-and-a-half venture in the Reno, Nevada, casino scene. In 1983, Pat became interested in winemaking and went on to earn numerous amateur awards. He attended various UC Davis winemaking classes during his nearly 30-year winemaking career.
Other tasting room associates: Karin Kinnear, Cindy Telford, Lory Najac and Jane Duncan