Ripken Vineyards & Winery, Inc.™

Meet Our Family
Our family members have unique personalities and we think our wines should too!
	Richard Ripken
	Nancy Ripken
	Madelyn Ripken Kolber
	Ryan Ripken
	Sue Ripken
	Emily (Kolber) Ripken
	Reuben Ripken
	Ben Kolber
	Simon Oliver Kolber
	Jetty
	Georgie

	Richard Ripken Owner, Grapegrower and Master of Nursery Stock We all have our different strengths and Richard (or Rip) knows how to grow a multitude of varieties in the Lodi area. He has his Masters from U.C. Davis in viticulture and he likes to put it to good use. He is an avid home winemaker and was the catalyst of our journey into becoming a bonded winery. We grow over 20 varieties of winegrapes and this begins our story of lesser-known but eclectic and adventuresome wines. Back to top

	Nancy Ripken Owner, Master Filler and Labeler Also an alum from U.C. Davis, Nancy is the jack-of-all-trades. She is technically the secretary and treasurer of the corporation but she tackles much more than that. No job is too small or too hard. Richard and Nancy have really worked to build this company over the last 40 years. Back to top

	Madelyn Ripken Kolber VP and Winemaker Madelyn, alumna of University of California, San Diego, has worked for the last 4 years on making the Ripken winery dream a reality. She has completed the production, compliance and construction phases of this adventure and now leads the team of friends and family into the sales and marketing of Ripken wines. She is a three time All-American volleyball player. Back to top

	Ryan Ripken VP & IT and Product Development Ryan finds the newest and coolest technology for the winery and researches all the lastet products on the market. He installed our cooling system and sourced our bottling line equipment. Ryan is a computer science whiz and we benefit from his creativity. He always has a link to a new blog about the most interesting topics. Ryan leads great tours of the winery and assists in crush and wine production. He is well versed in beer making too. Back to top

	Sue Ripken Tasting Room and Wine Club Sue has just graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Colombia College in Missouri. She recently received an exciting acknowledgement for the highest score in her class. During crush of 2006, Sue crushed, pressed and was the master recorder of Brix and temperature. She is even perfecting her forklift driving skills. Back to top

	Emily (Kolber) Ripken Hospitality Director Emily, mother of Reuban Jonah "future winemaker" Ripken, has recently been bestowed her masters in Public Health at UCLA. Emily exudes endless enthusiasm, energy and even eagerness to entertain everyone. She is a hospitable hostess and brings many fresh ideas to the tasting room and event planning. Back to top

	Reuben Ripken Recent Addition to the Winemaking Team, mentor to Simon Oliver Reuben is still getting some experience under his belt. His biggest attributes at such a young age are providing entertainment and distraction to the rest of the crew. Back to top

	Ben Kolber COO and master of forklift Need the door handle plasma cut? Need your press bucket welded? Or your sprayer calibrated? No problem. Ben is another jack-of-all-trades. He is quick, efficient and plays mean wine hose and drums too. Ben is a trained musician from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. He has toured in Taiwan, Mexico, the Florida Keys, Eureka and Ripon. Ben learned his winemaking skills as a crush intern in 2002 at Pacific Star Winery in Fort Bragg, CA. He recently started his own vineyard and farming management company, which includes a custom mechanical grape harvesting operation and a custom spray business. He is an avid hunter, fisher and alfalfa grower. Back to top

	Simon Oliver Kolber Newest member of the team Introducing the newest team member. Born on the same day as his dad, Ben Kolber. Back to top

	Jetty Bigger Winery Dog Jetty is a 6-year-old yellow lab. We like to call her “Licky Lickerman.” She is an easygoing gal that loves to give you a kiss. Back to top

	Georgie Little Winery Dog Georgie has a big bark for such a little guy. He is a Lhasa Apso that loves to announce newcomers to the winery. His breed, originally from Tibet, often lived in the Buddhist monasteries and acted as alarm/watchdogs, sounding off if intrudes penetrated the grounds. Don’t be offended at his barking. He is welcoming you. Check out his “forklift riding” and “rolling over” skills. Back to top