John Rittmaster, Owner

John Rittmaster, Wine Director, Import Buyer

Nickname: PRIMA's Capo di Tutti Capo

John is the boss. He has been at PRIMA since 1994 and, though he has passed most of his buying responsibilities and sense of humor to the rest of the staff, he still buys wine from Italy (especially Barolo), Burgundy (the home of most of his disposable income), the Rhone Valley, Bordeaux and Spain for both the restaurant and PRIMA Vini. In addition to hiding behind the mountain of papers and wine on his desk, gleefully terrorizing suppliers, foisting music from his I-pod on his poor staff and looking after just a few long-term PRIMA customers, John still hand picks the wines and writes the newsletter for the Super Consorzio. His fifteen-year tenure at PRIMA is surpassed only by Keith's 28 in the kitchen and Heather's nearly 16 in the front of the house. John came to PRIMA after four years with Robert Mondavi and Opus One as their man in Asia, as part of a fifteen-year stay in Japan where he met Anne, his wife of 25 years and had two kids, now 22 and 17. When Pinot Noir or Nebbiolo are on your mind, call John.

What's On His I-Pod: Porcupine Tree, Buffalo Springfield, Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, John Mayall and David Bromberg

Frank Rothstein, Wine Manager

Frank Rothstein, Wine Shop Manager, Wine Sales, Value Wine Buyer

Nickname: Panama Red (it's the hat, nothing else)

Few know that for a brief shining moment, Frank was actually John's boss when he was Assistant Manager at the old Draper & Esquin Wine Merchant in San Francisco. Though he still tries to boss John around, he has been at PRIMA six months less time. In addition to managing PRIMA Vini, because he's so damned cheap, Frank is PRIMA's Minister of Value, concentrating his buying and selling efforts on finding the best bang for buck the world over. He also has a special place in his heart for Riesling and other aromatic whites and makes sure our shelves are stocked with not only values in that category, but also the world's very best. Frank's palate is one of the best out there and his encyclopedic knowledge of wine and his background teaching wine for UC Berkeley make him uniquely suited to running PRIMA's Il Consorzio value-oriented wine club.

What's On His I-Pod: Miles Davis, Herb Albert, Thelonius Monk, Joe Pass, The Lennon Sisters

Franco Cassal, Wine Sales

Franc(o) Cassal, Wine Sales, Domestic Buyer

Nickname: 'Oh' or Cabernet Frank-o

Now in his second tenure at PRIMA, Franco left the world of wholesale to return back to the scene of his glory days in the wine business in the hopes of recapturing the magic that once made him the most feared man in all of Cabernet-dom. Actually, by all accounts, Franco is still in the prime of his career and the two years he spent brokering some of the most exquisite wines made in California have only served to sharpen his game, kind of like playing in NFL Europe for a while. He's resumed his place as PRIMA's Domestic Wine Buyer and over-seer of PRIMA's California Consorzio as he travels to wine country at least once a month to keep his hand on the pulse of the newest and best. With his beloved Mariners safely out of contention (again), Franco is now free to turn his attention to the Pittsburgh Steelers and his fantasy team.

What's On His I-Pod:Iron Maiden, Scorpions and The Toadies

Jessica Burch, Wine Sales

Jessica Burch, Wine Sales, Import Buyer

Nickname: Tink

Jessica is called Tinker Bell at PRIMA not because she is so small and cute (and she is, mind you), but because of how when she waves her wand, magic happens! In her nearly three years at PRIMA, Jessica has gotten her capable hands into just about everything, including a stint as Domestic Buyer and our de facto project manager for anything no one else can figure out how to do. Her long stay in Italy has made her uniquely suited to buying and selling those wines and, because her tastes are among the most eclectic at PRIMA, she's also dabbling in Spain, the Rhone Valley, Champagne and staying abreast of the ever-evolving scenes in South America and Australia. She is currently working with John on PRIMA's Antipodea di PRIMA Wine Club. When she's not at the Vet these days with her illin' cat and dog, Jessica also hosts PRIMA's Women's Tasting Group, runs our Wine Access program and, almost single-handedly, puts together our Champagne, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Chardonnay events. In other words, she keeps PRIMA World operating.

What's On Her I-Pod: No one knows. She keeps forgetting to bring it in!

Lisa Feldman, Wine Sales

Lisa Feldman, Wine Sales

Nickname: Miss Literal

Coming to us from a long stint in the LA music business, LA native Lisa brings a refreshing breath of fresh air and a distinct lack of cynicism to the wine business in NorCal. Her unflagging optimism, love of providing great customer service and inability to comprehend (or be offended by) our non-stop sarcasm makes her an incredibly valuable asset to the team. In addition she has a great, empirical palate, a love of the wines of the Loire Valley and unparalleled organizational skills. Most likely it will be Miss Lisa that will pop up and greet you when you walk through the door or she might already be up there, rearranging the stacks or writing on the chalkboard. Lisa is also in charge of our Friday and Saturday in-store tastings.

What's On Her I-Pod: Oh God! No more Human League, please! Flock of Seagulls, Thomas Dolby, all our worst 80's nightmares, all in one place, but nicely punctuated by great Salsa (Lisa lived in Mexico and speaks fluent Spanish) and Be Bop Jazz! This woman knows her tunes even if she did miss the sixties and seventies.

Borgula13628482, employee

Mueller-Kim13620091, employee

Walter Krause, Shipping Manager

Walter Krause, Shipping Manager

Nickname: Wally Babe

I don't know if you want anyone with an undying, unimpeachable loyalty to the Cubs looking after your wine, but somehow Walter puts sports naivete and shipping savvy together better than anyone else we know! Walter beats even me here in the morning, filled with optimism that today, indeed, the heat wave on the East Coast will break and we can get all this wine on its way. (That, and Kerry Wood won't go on the disabled list). And if it doesn't, hell, he'll find somewhere to put your wine until it does. Walter is THE MAN here at PRIMA and nothing comes in or out without his examination and it's worth the trip to our backroom to hear him laugh, which is, fortunately, very often.

What's On His I-Pod: Hootie and the Blowfish