His job as general sales manager with Crew Wines reunites Steve with John and Lane who had the good sense to hire him in 1994 as national sales manager for R.H. Phillips Vineyard. As the company grew, he was a key player in launching their new brands. These included Toasted Head and featured what soon became one of the industry’s top-selling Chardonnays. Not content with U.S. sales, Steve was named director of exports and oversaw dramatic growth in the international market. Born in Sacramento and a UC Davis graduate, Steve started his sales career in the stereo business–a fact that is quite obvious when you enter his family room where two over-sized electrostatic speakers are the centerpiece. He’s also an avid golfer and gourmet cook who finds it relaxing to prepare dinner each night for his wife, Joanne, and two teenaged children.