Michael Giese and Nicole Morris Join Prominent Edna Valley Winery
San Luis Obispo, Calif. (Aug. 20, 2018) – Tolosa, a family-owned, luxury winery in San Luis Obispo, Calif., proudly welcomes Michael Giese as its new Estate Manager and Nicole Morris as assistant winemaker. Both bring extensive experience to the Edna Valley winery which is cementing its reputation as a leader in the direct-to-consumer market and whose ultra-premium wines have captured the attention of critics and consumers.
As Estate Manager, Giese oversees Tolosa’s 25-person on-site sales and hospitality teams and reports directly to Tolosa General Manager June McIvor. He previously served as the Brand Manager at Hope Family Wines in Paso Robles. Prior to that, the Cal Poly graduate was the Business Development Director at J.M. Shorrock & Co., California Region Manager for Apex Wine Group and DTC Manager at Rotta Winery in Templeton. During a four-year stint at Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles, Giese worked as the Tasting Room Manager and Assistant Marketing Manager.
“Mike’s broad experience in the wine industry spans brand strategy to marketing execution to experience management. He is the ideal person to lead our tasting room team in implementing all aspects of our direct-to-consumer hospitality and sales model,” McIvor said.
Morris, also a graduate of Cal Poly, brings with her a decade of wine industry experience. She comes to Tolosa from Talley Vineyards, where she worked her way up from cellar assistant to enologist to assistant winemaker. Previous employers include Chamisal Winery. She replaces Jason Fullmer, who recently left to launch a mobile canning business for beer, wine and spirits.
“Nicole’s background and her extensive experience with winemaking on the Central Coast are terrific assets to our production team,” Tolosa Winemaker Frederic Delivert said. “We are very excited to have her help craft Tolosa wines.”
Ten of Tolosa’s 2016 Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, including the flagship wine, Primera, are rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator, The Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast.
Tolosa is located at 4910 Edna Road and open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For reservations, email concierge@tolosawinery.com or call 805-782-0500.
About Tolosa
Tolosa, established in San Luis Obispo in 1998 and part of the Alpha Omega Collective, is an artisanal producer of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. Helmed by vintner Robin Baggett, Tolosa epitomizes the special terroir that is Edna Valley, nestled amongst the northwest to southeast running volcanic hills of San Luis Obispo County and the frontier for the most complex cool-climate varietals in California. Its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays reflect the cold Pacific wind that sweeps down the coast and funnels into the valley, as well as the remarkable diversity of soil types: ingredients for nuanced and balanced wines of distinctive character. Tolosa combines traditional methods, such as hand punch down and whole berry uncrushed fermentations, with state-of-the-art equipment in the cellar and cutting edge technology in the vineyard to handcraft exceptional wines that are the purest expressions of Edna Valley. To learn more, please visit www.tolosawinery.com.
