Mark Ryan McNeilly

Wine work often starts on the floor before it reaches the cellar, and Mark Ryan McNeilly’s path followed that route through service, sales, and production. He first worked as a server and bartender, then moved into wholesale through a sales position at Seattle distributor in Seattle and later into the national sales manager role at Matthews Cellars in Woodinville. He also worked at Steele Winery in California, building familiarity with the commercial and production sides of the trade and with the movement of wine from maker to drinker. In 1999, he founded Mark Ryan Winery, where he remains owner and winemaker today.

The work now sits with the winery itself: McNeilly oversees Mark Ryan Winery and makes the wines under the label. It is a role that still demands the same practical attention that comes from having worked across the trade, from the service floor to sales to production, with daily responsibility for both operations and wine style.

Dead Horse Cabernet Sauvignon, Monkey Wrench, Long Haul, Vincent Red and Rose, and Suicide Shift are the wines most closely associated with McNeilly’s name. Together, they show the range of the label and the sort of bottles built to be opened at table and poured without ceremony.

“I don’t want coveted wines; I want consumed wines.”