Jason Smith was born and raised on a pear orchard in Wenatchee, Washington.  As the 4th generation of Smith farmers, it was always quietly assumed he would take over his family’s farm when he was of age, but everything changed when he got his first computer at 13.  By the age of 16, he was building computers in his parent’s basement and selling them to businesses.  From there, it was 4 years of University, and a 22 year career in high tech. 

In 2015, he decided to make a career change, and venture back towards his roots in agriculture.  Having been interested in wine since he was 18, he attended the Winemaking program at the Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle College, and also interned on the winemaking team for 2 years at Patterson Cellars.  In 2017, he took a very aggressive leap, and started Category 5 Cellars. 

Jason looks forward to utilizing his agriculture, customer service and technical background to work more closely with the vineyards, and help bridge the gap between the vines, the winery, and the customer.

Stan grew up on a horse ranch outside of Pullman, WA. Following highschool he moved to the Seattle area where he attended the University of Washington, much to the chagrin of his family of Cougars. Following college he began working for QFC, where he eventually found himself in the position as Wine Steward knowing very little about wine. Very quickly, however, he discovered a love for wine and a desire to learn more, especially how it's made. To that end he enrolled in the wine production program at the Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle College. Following the completion of the program at the NW Wine Academy he interned at Kevin White Winery in Woodinville, WA and then found his way to Category 5 Cellars following the internship.