The Team
Rich Hartenberger
Owner / Winemaker
Rich is the owner, winemaker and grower for Midnight Cellars. Born and raised in Chicago, this Midwesterner has settled well in Paso Robles. When not at the winery, he's either traveling the country selling Midnight wines or home watching the Chicago Bears, White Sox, and Bulls.
Luis Ramierez
Vineyard Manager
Luis manages and implements our growing strategies in both the Township and Anderson Road vineyards. Luis started with Midnight almost 25 years ago as part of the planting crew. He is now an indispensable member of our team and his dedication and resourcefulness is much appreciated. He resides in Paso Robles with his wife and three beautiful daughters.
Demetra Kaperonis
General Manager
Demetra is the General Manager of Midnight Cellars. She studied Business Management at Northeastern University in Boston. Upon graduation, she moved back to the central coast to join her family's restaurant business. The transition from food to wine was seamless. When not at the Tasting Room she can be found chasing after her two little boys.
Brandon Schwitter
Assistant Winemaker
Brandon joined the Midnight team as a tasting room associate after a stint at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for aerospace engineering. He always had a genuine interest in winemaking, so the move to the winery as assistant winemaker was natural. When not listening to Seattle's grunge rock, he's cooking authentic Japanese cuisine to share with the winery staff.
Karen Loewi Jones
Compliance Manager
Karen has been with Midnight since 2007. She has worked as both our tasting room and wine club manager. Her more recent role is our compliance manager. Outside of work her passion is music. She plays the viola with the San Luis Obispo Symphony and other local performing arts groups.
Caysi Powell
Wine Club Manager & Tasting Room Lead
Caysi is our hospitality extraordinaire. As the wine club manager, she oversees all member profiles and allocations. As a Paso Robles native, her extensive local knowledge is shared each day in the tasting room with guests. When not working, she can be found baking delicious cookies and out playing disc golf with her husband and two pups.
Kurosh Rassti
Event Coordinator & Tasting Room Lead
Kurosh has a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for throwing great parties. He can also be found in the Tasting Room providing guests with a knowledgeable and relaxing tasting experience. He recently moved out from Missouri and has easily adjusted to the central coast way of life.
Will Erlendson
Cellar Hand
Will has completed two harvests with Midnight Cellars. His forklift skills are much appreciated and he's a natural on the tractor. As a student, Will is focused on his formal education and is anticipating transferring to an enology program. He can be found at the winery when not studying.