Hal Oates - Founder and President

Hal grew up in Texas with a large, loving family that was passionate about sensational food and wine. Hal's first trip to Napa was at age 10 and his only regret is that he didn't return to start Porthos sooner. After college at the University of Virginia and business school at Wharton, Hal spent ten years in consumer advertising and promotions with PepsiCo. Hal relocated from Texas to northern California for his last assignment as V.P. of Corporate marketing working with George Lucas and the Lucasfilm management team to develop all corporate advertising and promotions for Star Wars. Hal later became more interested in wine sampling than film marketing and launched an insiders-only newsletter (aka., ‘blog’ in today’s nomenclature) profiling his favorite undiscovered wineries in Napa and Sonoma. That newsletter led to the development of Porthos after a plethora of friends and family lamented they couldn't purchase (outside of Wine Country) any of the delectable wines Hal recommended. Today, Hal and his team are dedicated to providing honest, unbiased recommendations for the finest small production wines in California, Italy, and France according to each clients' personal tastes.

Taylor Morgan - Wine Concierge

Taylor is a certified Sommelier and Level 3 WSET who uprooted her Florida life and dog (named Pinot) to follow her dream of living in Napa Valley. Taylor first discovered her enthusiasm for wine tasting during her studies in Tuscany. Next, she pursued a professional background in restaurant management and fine dining, where she fell in love with rare wine. Before Porthos, Taylor honed her craft as the Director of Wine for a tasting salon that emphasized highly-rated, boutique California wines. Taylor’s core expertise is Napa’s Cult Cabernets and under-the-radar Reds, while her personal tastes include a wide variety of local + French, and Italian treasures. Taylor looks forward to sharing her favorites with Porthos VIPs and learning about your cellar priorities.

Daniel Barron - Wine Concierge

Daniel is a longtime wine insider with particular passion for Napa Cabernet, Pinot, Bordeaux, and Aussie Shiraz. Over the past 15 years Daniel has sold wine for Michelin-Starred restaurants in New York City, built wine programs and elite lists for restaurants here in California, and recently he has worked with top Sonoma wineries in production, hospitality and VIP client sales. He’s excited to bring his passion for wine curation and his breadth of experience to the personal collections of Porthos clientele. When not in the Porthos office you’ll find him in the Pacific Ocean as a passionate open water swimmer tapping into his roots as a native of the east coast of Australia.

Ryan Lee - Vice President of Operations & Wine Buying

Ryan leads all creative and technical developments for Porthos.com. Prior to Porthos, Ryan scored movies and television commercials for several years as well as successfully launching a new restaurant concept for Gap, Inc.

Julie Meszaros – Vice President of Finances

Julie is a native of Northern Michigan who landed in the heart of Napa Valley years ago. Her broad accounting background includes working in education, construction, and agriculture, until finding her true passion in the wine industry in the late 90s. She comes to Porthos from Napa Valley Vintners where she oversaw finances for the non-profit organization and their very successful wine auctions: Auction Napa Valley and Premiere Napa Valley. A knack for crunching numbers and a love of great wines makes for a perfect fit on the Porthos team. 

Amber Lenzi - Logistics and Operations Coordinator

Amber’s interest in wine began in Marin County, where she was born and raised. It wasn't until she moved to San Luis Obispo, however, to pursue degrees in Agriculture Business and Wine & Viticulture that her passion for the wine industry really took off. After working as a lab technician in Edna Valley, she found herself drawn back to the Bay Area, honing her expertise in luxury wine sales. Amber joins Porthos from a leading wine data asset management company, where she provided e-commerce and consultancy services to some of the most sought-after wine brands in the country. Today, her knowledge and appreciation for wine from different facets of the industry seamlessly translate into her role here at Porthos. 

Kimberly Perricelli – Sales Communications and Strategy

Kimberly spent the first half of her career in the private aviation business in New York, Boston, Chicago and Denver before transitioning to food and beverage by way of the Culinary Institute of America. She has leveraged her client services and operational leadership experience with luxury brands and her passion for food and wine to maximize sales and service excellence at The Pebble Beach Company and boutique wineries in the Napa Valley. She now handles Sales Communications and Strategy for Porthos where she supports the Wine Concierge team. When Kimberly is not working, she can be found trail running in the mountains of Northern California.

Jose Diaz – Warehouse Manager

Jose is a California Bay-Area native and joined the Porthos’ team in 2010. His attention to detail, combined with an incredible memory, make him the perfect fit to manage our warehouse ensuring that all orders are processed timely and accurately. When not on the clock, Jose enjoys spending time with his little family and expanding his vast palate (and collection) of sensational wines. 

Juan Caycho – Warehouse Assistant Manager

After 15+ years working in fine dining, Juan landed at Porthos, combining time completing his studies and gaining experience with the direct to consumer wine market. Jose & Juan (or "The Grumpy Old Men" as our team calls them) have fun working in below 60 degree temperatures running warehouse operations. When not tending to his garden on the weekends, Juan enjoys rock climbing at the closest gym.