A fourth generation California farmer, Tom earned a business degree from Stanford and spent the first part of his career as a management consultant at the San Francisco office of the prestigious global management firm McKinsey & Company. One project during this time was evaluating a small winery in the Russian River Valley called Rodney Strong Vineyards and, in a chance meeting, he was introduced to founder Rod Strong and winemaker Rick Sayre. Already developing an interest in wine, this encounter planted a seed that would grow into a lifelong passion.

Anthony Capobianco, universally known as AC, is the President of Rodney Strong Wine Estates. AC has worked in the beverage industry for decades. Beginning in sales, representing famous brands the likes of Miller Lite, Guinness and Samuel Adams, he eventually moved to the supplier side of the business, leading the New York Tri-State area for Presidente Beer, the leading export beer of the Dominican Republic.

In 2004, AC joined Miller Brewing Company. During his ten years at Miller Brewing, SABMiller and MillerCoors, he held various leadership positions in various markets, including Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New Jersey. From there, it was on to sales and marketing for Kimberly-Clark representing the brands Scott, Huggies and Kleenex while leading the national broker business at Crossmark.

After making the move to fine wine at Treasure Wine Estates in 2013, AC joined Rodney Strong in 2015. After a year at Rodney Strong, AC briefly left the company, only to return in June 2017. “I was so blessed to be able to return,” AC remarks, “and blessed to be given a second chance. I realized simply that I really wanted to be here.” During his tenure at Rodney Strong, AC has served as Vice President of off-premise National Accounts, Vice President of US Sales and, most recently, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing. Under his leadership in those roles, Rodney Strong Wine Estates has increased its national account footprint, improved its share of luxury business, and entered a national partnership with Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits.

AC lives with his family in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Capobianco family loves to travel, taking an annual cross-country road trip each summer. At home, you can find AC cheering for his kids at gymnastics and soccer or enjoying family game nights.

Justin Seidenfeld serves as Chief Winemaking & Operations Officer for Rodney Strong Vineyards, the iconic Sonoma County Winery that was founded in 1959 by namesake Rod Strong. Justin’s winemaking career began in Sebastopol, California, where he was an intern at Iron Horse winery in 2005. He quickly rose from cellar hand to taking on winemaking responsibilities which led to a position in 2006 at the venerable Robert Mondavi Winery in the Napa Valley.

As a harvest enologist at Mondavi, Seidenfeld walked some of California’s premiere vineyards and gained a comprehensive understanding of quality land and viticulture. Continuing on to become an enologist, he took that experience into winemaking and supervised the winemaking of Estancia, Clos du Bois, Simi, and others within the Constellation portfolio. Additional responsibilities included overseeing small lot Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir winemaking.

Justin graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2006 with a B.S. in Viticulture & Enology. He lives in Santa Rosa with his wife Dena and daughters Madison, Lila and Reagan. Justin enjoys golfing, playing with his daughters and working on his home. As to his inspiration to a career in winemaking, Justin notes, “people recalling the occasions that wine makes better and memorable is the reason I make wine. Hearing about how and when someone enjoyed a wine I made inspires me.”

As an Air Force brat, Greg moved around throughout his childhood. His family eventually settled down in Sacramento, where he spent his formative years. Greg’s love of nature led him the University of Wyoming where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences. After graduating and returning home, he considered his life’s many options. Initially turning away from dentistry and the Peace Corps, and fatefully moving to Sonoma County to join his girlfriend, now wife, Mary, he landed in Santa Rosa. Intriguingly, many local lab jobs were in the wine industry, a career path he hadn’t anticipated. Greg quickly landed a position at Vinquiry in 1999, working for renowned winemakers Marty Bannister and MaryAnn Graf, who owned Vinquiry at the time. Four years later, after a sleepless night thinking about his future, Greg left Vinquiry for the Enologist position at Chalk Hill Winery. Two years after that he left Chalk Hill to take a position at Rodney Strong. Since that fateful day, his position has progressed from QC Lab Manager to Associate Winemaker to Winemaker, and he is now winemaker for Davis Bynum Winery, and the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines for Rodney Strong.

Asked to describe his approach to winemaking, Greg responds, “Mostly low impact, with the thinking that 98% of the work is done in the vineyard and at fermentation.” That’s perhaps a more humble answer than an accurate one, but Greg had the rare fortune to work alongside and learn from three of the legendary winemakers in California history: Rick Sayre, David Ramey and Davis Bynum. What does one learn from such highly regarded winemakers? “From Rick,” Greg says,” I learned to be honest about the wine, but find the positive and lend a voice to that. From David I learned to relax, don’t be too reactionary. And from Davis, to be humble and real and avoid telling the bookkeepers the true story if you need to.” There’s wisdom in that for just about every occupation.

Greg lives in Santa Rosa with his wife Mary and their two children Lucas and Cora. He claims to be an amateur backyard birdwatcher because in the front yard, “You have to be careful where you point the binoculars.” An avid hiker and mountain biker, he hopes one day to hike the length of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. That’s 2650 miles over about five months no matter where you point the binoculars. But from lab tech to winemaker for Rodney Strong Vineyards and Davis Bynum Winery, Greg is used to dreaming big.

“My dream is to make wines that are elegant and timeless,” states Olivia Wright. A lofty aspiration, but one for which Olivia is perfectly suited. Spending a few summers in Bordeaux as a child put her on the right path, if not the Right Bank, but it was her studies at the University of California, Davis that firmly set her course. A freshman year visit to Spain and a tour of the Frank Gehry-designed Marqués de Riscal winery in Rioja, led to her personal wine “Aha!” moment—a taste of Riscal’s famed Barón de Chirel bottling. Elegant and timeless. Watchwords for any aspiring winemaker.

From there, Olivia hit the ground running – and occasionally, stomping. Her path led her to working harvests at Mumm Napa and Isabel Estate in New Zealand, but it was in the vineyards of Santa Barbara, at Dierberg & Star Lane Vineyards, “where I really fell in love with winemaking and winegrowing.” Winemaker Tyler Thomas, Olivia noticed, “showed up every day to the winery genuinely SO excited to ferment stuff.” To anyone who knows Olivia, it’s apparent she shares that excitement for fermenting stuff – usually grapes, but let’s not tie her hands.

Today, as Director of Winemaking at Rodney Strong Wine Estates, Olivia is charged with crafting Rodney Strong’s estate collection of wines, as well as directing the technical aspects of winery operations across the portfolio. Initially brought on in 2018 to oversee the winery’s quality control lab, she has enjoyed steadily growing and expanding her duties over the years. She takes pride in working alongside our talented production team to ensure every detail receives meticulous attention.

Raised in Houston, Texas by two airline pilots, Olivia developed a love for exploring the world that remains strong. Whether traveling to new countries or simply exploring the world of wine through a glass, curiosity continues to guide her path. At her home in Sonoma County, she enjoys taking advantage of the bountiful hiking and cycling trails. You might also catch her enjoying the area’s vibrant cultural life through live theater, concerts, and comedy shows.

But it’s wine that truly rules her passions, and her excitement to ferment stuff. “Half the fun of being in the wine industry,” she notes, “is that there is always something more to learn.” And the reward? “Hands down,” Olivia says, “it’s the opportunities to share a bottle with family and friends.”

Rachel Shelton-O’Brien’s path to becoming Associate Winemaker at Rodney Strong Vineyards has been particularly circuitous. A native of Marietta, Georgia, and a graduate of Sacramento State with a degree in, of all things, Government, it was a trip to Amador County and the Napa Valley that initially inspired Rachel to pursue wine as her passion. The very next harvest she landed an internship at Trinchero Family Estates and moved to California. Trinchero had the sense to keep her employed for the next two and a half years. It was apparent even then that the Government degree had been overthrown.

In April of 2017 Rachel was hired to work in the lab at Rodney Strong Vineyards where she very quickly became indispensable. Winemaker Olivia Wright describes Rachel as a “first-class go-getter.” In March of 2026 she was promoted to Associate Winemaker, joining the illustrious ranks of Rodney Strong Vineyards’ much-admired winemaking team. Rachel puts it this way, “I have been at Rodney Strong for nine years and within that time I continue to see a company that is growing and striving to make technological advances, while not skimping on quality. Being able to continue to grow with this company and contribute to its success means the world to me.”

Befitting a talented winemaker, Rachel is also very much a foodie. In her spare time, she and her husband love to check out the newest wine country restaurants, as well as creating their own craft cocktails at home. Blending is in her bones. And it comes as no surprise that she also loves hiking with her husband and their three dogs (none of which, surprisingly, is a Lab) and Pilates. Calories don’t just burn themselves.
Rachel says that her end goal is to be able to have a say from vineyard to bottle. She’s earned that say every step of her circuitous way.

Manuel Villanueva began working in the wine industry right out of high school—Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa. His first full-time job was as a cellar hand at Clos Du Bois. Manny was soon promoted to Cellarmaster, overseeing a cellar with a capacity of 2.5 million gallons! It was while working tirelessly at Clos du Bois that Manny learned his considerable leadership skills along with what it takes to run a large and successful wine cellar on a daily basis.

From Clos du Bois, Manny worked at The Ranch Winery in Napa Valley, a custom crush facility that allowed him to work with many different winemakers from Napa Valley and Sonoma County. In a short time, he learned all of their individual styles, and what went into producing the many and varied wines he oversaw. After two years at The Ranch, Rodney Strong’s Director of Winemaking Justin Seidenfeld recruited Manny to become the Cellar Master for Rodney Strong Wine Estates. “Initially, Justin put me in charge of the tank cellars,” Manny reflects. “I quickly realized that I had one of the best production teams in the wine industry. The way we have all responded to the challenges presented in the past few years, and despite those challenges still made stellar wines, makes me proud of where I work, and with whom I work.”

Manny lives in Santa Rosa with his wife Lucia, who also works at Rodney Strong in the Quality Assurance Lab, and their three sons, Juan, Carlos, and Diego. Manny says, “I love to watch my boys play competitive soccer even if it means sitting in the bleachers during a winter storm or baking on a hot summer day. Dad is their number one fan.” The Villanueva family also loves to travel to National and State Parks, and “…we love to eat out. A lot!”