Our Team

IAPETUS is a small team, dedicated to crafting excellent wine with minimal intervention in our Vermont landscape.

Meet the Winegrowers

Founded as an exploration of Vermont grapes in 2016, Iapetus is a creative pursuit of wine with a story, one with a beginning hundreds of millions of years ago, & whose ending is still far out of sight. It's a story of transformation and being open to changes, transitions, & shifts both in our physical efforts with grapes & wine, but also in our philosophical & intellectual endeavors with the two as well. Iapetus will serve as an evolution in the continued learning, developing, & appreciating of winegrowing in Vermont. 

Ethan Joseph

Ethan Joseph’s first experience in the wine world was being swept off his feet by a jug of Carlo Rossi. Carlo and Ethan were good friends for a while, trading swills and making merriment, but slowly distance grew between them. Soon enough, Ethan found himself at Shelburne Vineyard and has been growing grapes and making wine in Vermont since 2008. He is responsible for all aspects of production, from vineyard to glass, and appreciates this integral role in the full cycle of winegrowing. As such, he is committed to highlighting the potential of northern varieties through informed viticulture and premium winemaking.

 In 2016, eight years into his career with Shelburne Vineyard, Ethan and the team developed Iapetus, which represents wines with a strong sense of place and applies minimalism in the winery. Iapetus has been Ethan’s creative pursuit of wine with a story, one with a beginning hundreds of millions of years ago, and whose ending is still far out of sight. It's a story of transformation and being open to changes, transitions, and shifts both in our physical efforts with grapes and wine, but also in our philosophical and intellectual endeavors with the two as well. Iapetus serves as an evolution in the continued learning, developing, and appreciating of winegrowing in Vermont. All that aside, Ethan firmly believes wine is simply something to be enjoyed, whether it be from a plastic cup pool side or shared over a meal, however it will bring the most joy to the drinker.

 Ethan also shares his experience and expertise as a speaker at national conferences and serves as Treasurer for the Vermont Grape and Wine Council. 

Head Winegrower

Tyler Mackelvey

Tyler MacKelvey has a degree in Biotechnology, and his passion for chemistry drove him towards the wine industry. He began his career at Jewell Towne Vineyards in 2015- a small operation in coastal NH- where he was mentored by Peter Oldak (a pioneer in Hybrid grape growing). Eventually Tyler became the winemaker for Jewell Towne, and by this time he had fully fallen in love with the diversity of skills needed to succeed in both the winery and vineyard. Diving into tractor maintenance, cellar intricacies, and countless hours of dedication to the vines it was clear to him that this was a blooming lifelong passion. Tyler transitioned to Shelburne Vineyards (spring '17) where he feels blessed to work with individuals whose constant curiosity, pursuit of knowledge, and honest have made Iapetus wines a perfect fit. Not only is he a competent winegrower but has found a way to share his skills in photography and creativity by managing and curating the Iapetus Instagram along with supervising other creative endeavors related to the business.

Winegrower

Josh Stecker

Josh Stecker graduated from UVM in 2012 with a degree in Natural Resources and started at Shelburne Vineyard during the very cold pruning season of 2013. After many conversations and reflections in the field, Josh helped bring the Iapetus brand to fruition in 2016 with the goal of strengthening and highlighting the link between the land and the bottle.  Inspired by nature and the cycles of the Earth, Josh was drawn to winegrowing because of the beautiful combination of farming and making. He loves the seemingly endless variety of challenges that present themselves in this job, always keeping him on his toes. Most of all, Josh is stoked to bring Vermont wine to the people!

Winegrower

Stephen Chic

Stephen Chic has always had a passion for horticulture and finds the historic nature of winegrowing fascinating. He grew up in Plymouth, VT. He attended Finger Lakes Community College in upstate New York studying Viticulture and Enology. After graduating, he worked in wineries in the Finger Lakes region, Long Island, Vermont, New Zealand, Tasmania and California. He has now returned to Vermont to join the team at Iapetus. He is excited to be back on Vermont soil, growing, fermenting and participating in the wine industry here in the Green Mountain State.


Winegrower