Ryan Zepaltas
WINEMAKER & GENERAL MANAGER
It’s hard to imagine a more fitting successor to Copain’s winemaking legacy than Winemaker and General Manager Ryan Zepaltas.
Beyond his impressive winemaking pedigree, Ryan’s true passion lies in Copain’s signature style – the same approach he championed under his own critically acclaimed Zepaltas Wines.
Ryan’s path to winemaking was anything but conventional. Growing up in Wisconsin’s beer-drinking culture, wine wasn’t on his radar. After college, he moved to Sebastopol, CA to pursue skateboarding but quickly found himself broke. A friend offered him a harvest job at La Crema, where his interest in winemaking first sparked. This curiosity took him to New Zealand’s Villa Maria, where a transformative experience solidified his lifelong passion for winemaking.
In the summer of 2000, Ryan interviewed with Siduri, a then relatively unknown Pinot Noir producer housed in a Santa Rosa warehouse. Excited by the opportunity to work with his favorite varietal, Pinot Noir, Ryan quickly connected with Siduri’s winemakers Adam and Dianna Lee. Their dedication to crafting small-batch, site-specific wines inspired Ryan, and over the next two decades, he played an integral role in shaping Siduri’s wines, progressing from Cellar Master to Assistant Winemaker and eventually Winemaker.
In 2004, Ryan launched his own label, Zepaltas Wines, to focus on small-lot, cool-climate Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. In 2018, he achieved his “dream job” as Copain’s Winemaker and General Manager, where he continues to uphold the winery’s commitment to elegant, balanced, and food-friendly wines.
Outside the winery, Ryan enjoys time with his wife Anna, daughters Audrey and Claire – and, occasionally, still shreds.
Quin Donahue
ASSOCIATE WINEMAKER
Growing up in Napa, Quin looked up to people working in the wine industry. They worked hard, and it looked like they had so much fun. Working with your hands and drinking wine? He thought, what’s not to love!? During his high school summers, Quin worked on a mobile bottling line and admired all the different wineries. As it became time to figure out what Quin wanted to do with his life, he decided to pursue his dream of becoming a winemaker. Quin studied Wine and Viticulture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a concentration in Enology.
Quin found a cellar position at Cambria Winery through a career fair and began “paying his dues.” Quin spent one year at Cambria Winery, learning cellar and lab operations, and then moved to Byron Winery, where he sharpened his Pinot Noir winemaking skills.
While Quin enjoyed his time on the Central Coast, he found it was time to come home. Back in Sonoma County, Quin moved into a large production facility in Geyserville - “I think learning how to make wine at that scale is crucial; you learn things you wouldn’t learn at smaller facilities, and you learn things quickly. A position opened at Copain, and the chance to work with small lots of high-end Pinot Noir and learn a new style of winemaking seemed like a dream!” – Quin Donahue.
Today, Quin works closely with Ryan Zepaltas on crafting premium wines. He manages the day-to-day operations at the winery and still gets his hands dirty in the cellar. Quin oversees a couple of vineyards throughout the Sonoma Coast and collaborates with vineyard managers to nail the perfect picks during harvest.
In his spare time, Quin loves spending time with his Fiancé in San Francisco, snowboarding during the winter, and perfecting his sourdough bread.
