Special Guests
Master Sommelier (MS) – February 2008 Wine & Spirits Education Trust Diploma (DipWSET) – July 2011 Certified Sake Professional (CSP) – July 2012 Sean Razee is one of only 236 wine professionals worldwide and one of the first 100 people…
Ashley Hausman is the first Colorado Master of Wine. She holds a Master of Arts in English and American Literature from New York University. Import sales, wine writing and education fills her days. Ashley is an Enology instructor at Metro…
William Davis started in restaurants at the tender age of 15 in the Dallas -Ft. Worth area. A career in economics was not as fun as working the floor, so he stayed in the hospitality industry both in Texas and…
Partner/Proprietor, Sandhi, Domaine de la Côte & Evening Land Vineyards Co-founder of Domaine de la Côte, Rajat is a three-time James Beard Award winner and regarded as one of the world’s foremost experts on wine. A trained chef, Rajat grew…
Mike Reynolds began at the inception of the winery, shortly after Craig and Kathryn Hall returned from Austria in 2002. Mike served as Winemaker and General Manager during the infancy of the winery, and was promoted to President in 2006.…
In 1992, I created Diamond Wine Importers out of the belief that Greece, with its natural terroir of mountain vineyards, maritime influenced climate, volcanic and alluvial soils, and over 200 ancient indigenous varieties, can once again become a source of…
Born and raised in Colorado, Brett Zimmerman discovered his passion for wine while working his way through the University of Colorado, first as a busboy and then a waiter. The owners of Boulder’s Laudisio and Flagstaff House saw his potential…
St. Innocent Winery was founded in 1988 by Mark Vlossak, our winemaker. We produce small lots of handmade, vineyard-designated wine from some of the best vineyards in the Willamette Valley, including Shea, Freedom Hill, Momtazi and our estate, Zenith Vineyard.…
Mark Neal's life-long involvement with the Napa Valley started with working with his father Jack Neal. In 1968 after working years for other farmers, Jack Neal started a vineyard management business in 1968 Mark began at an early age and…
Lyle Railsback began cooking in restaurants during college, then moved into wine and became a sommelier at age 21, working in restaurants in San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, and the Willamette Valley. During his exploration of wine, France soon took center…
Will Costello is a Master Sommelier by the American Chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers. Costello has competed in numerous wine related competitions including the The Court of Master Sommelier’s TOP/Somm, The Chaine de Rotisseurs “Young Somm Competition,” the…
Chefs
Kevin Erving, Beano’s Cabin Kevin grew up in the Pacific Northwest and started his culinary career in Seattle, WA over 30 years ago. He landed a job with The Four Seasons Hotel and Resorts at the age of 19 as…
Executive Chef Daniel Maguire’s point of view is to utilize the best local ingredients, giving them their truest expression on the plate. Chef Dan studied at Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, and turned his culinary eye to the…
Known for his passion for food, fresh ingredients and commitment to sourcing the best culinary products, Executive Chef Kenneth Butler brings his knowledge and creativity to Manor Vail Lodge and The Fitz Bar & Restaurant. Chef Ken developed his culinary…
Chef Paul Wade is a California wine country native with a national reputation for his creative, unpretentious approach to new American cuisine. Early in his career he was cited as a rising star by the San Francisco Chronicle and has…
While many young children grew up playing with make-believe food, Marcus Stewart was cooking real, organic, soulful food alongside his grandmother in Andrews, South Carolina at a tender age. "Just like the vegetables and herbs grown on my grandparents' organic…
Chef John was raised on a 165 acre dairy turned hobby farm that feature a range of animals including ducks, geese, goats, pigs, and chickens. After high school he attended Le Cordon Bleu in Minneapolis where he graduated with an…
Wineries
Brett deLeuze, president/partner of ZD Wines in the Napa Valley, began his winery career at the young age of 4 when his parents founded ZD Wines. Growing up with the family business, he helped with picking grapes, then to bottling…
Cris Cherry is a former Vail Valley resident and Vail Mountain School alum. He spent his childhood on the slopes while his parents owned and operated the Minturn Saloon. Food and wine have always been an important part of Cris’s…
Bernard Retornaz’ professional involvement in the wine world began in 1984, after graduating from Electronics School and spending seven years in International Sales and Marketing. His first experience was with MAISON LABOURE-ROI based in Nuits-Saint-Georges, France. Bernard was an Export…
Dave Guffy first became interested in wine as a Food Science student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. During his college years, he was working in restaurants where he had the opportunity to sample a variety of different…
Martin Clubb is Managing Winemaker and co-owner with his wife Megan of L’Ecole N° 41. This third generation, family-owned winery is located in the old Frenchtown Schoolhouse depicted on their label. Founded in 1983, L’Ecole was the third winery in…
Canard Vineyard has been making hand crafted wines in Napa Valley for over thirty-five years. They are well known to enophiles and wine collectors, but have managed to stay a bit of a secret as they are not open to…
Alana discovered her passion for wine while doing a study abroad in France in 2005. During the summer of 2009, she moved from Connecticut in order to pursue a career in the wine industry. Having completed the WSET Intermediate and…
Kevin Hall has studied wine and winemaking techniques across the globe, but the AVV winemaker says his philosophy has always been to respect the inherent qualities of the estate grapes right at his doorstep. “I get beautiful fruit from here…
Germán Bistué is a Founding Partner at Wine Bridge Imports and assistant winemaker at Bistue Cellars winery in California. Growing up in Mendoza, Argentina, Germán has always been involved in the wine industry. After graduating from college, he managed a…
Carolina Bistué is a Proprietor and Winemaker at Bistue Cellars winery in California. Growing up in the heart of the Mendoza wine region in Argentina, the world's fifth largest wine-producing country, Carolina developed a strong passion for wine early on.…
Neil was born and raised in Bristol, England. Trained as a chef, he moved into winemaking with stints with John Munch at Adelaida Cellars and Ken Volk at Wild Horse. At Adelaida, Neil met Robert Haas and the Perrins of…
Reichsrat von Buhl has been a family-owned winery for more than 150 years, and has belonged to the circle of the most prestigious wineries in Germany for just as long. Since it was founded in 1849, Reichsrat von Buhl has…
Founding winemaker, Sean Capiaux, has established an impressive and notable career over the past twenty-six years at prominent wineries around the globe. He graduated from California State University, Fresno (BS, Enology; minor in Chemistry) in the late-80’s and began his…
Matthew Regan is the Vice President/Partner of VGS Chateau Potelle Winery in the Napa Valley. Matthew joined Chateau Potelle in 2000, and now manages all aspects of the VGS experience. Prior to his appointment at VGS Chateau Potelle, Matthew managed…
Winemaker / General Manager “Winemaking is a science and entails technical skill, but just as critical is having deep intuition, keen observation, and a sense of wonder.” Chris Kajani became the winemaker and general manager at Bouchaine Vineyards in April…
Zach Locke, owner of Old World Wine Co, started importing French wine into Colorado in 2004. Wine from France remains a focus, but Old World Wine Co. is now bringing fine wines from across Europe to Colorado. Formally trained in…
Pascal Boyé was born in Libourne, France from a family of Bordeaux vintners. The last of a tribe of six children, he grew up to become a quietly determined personality. After studying civil engineering in Bordeaux, he flew to the…
I have had the privilege of working in the Cool climate, Fine Wine/ Boutique wine industry of South Africa for 25 years in various capacities, ranging from tasting room manager to assistant winemaker and more recently Marketing and Sales manager.…
7th Generation of Winemaker in the Becker Family, responsible for winemaking since the 2005 vintage. Worked at the following Estates before: 1996 Georg Moßbacher - Forst / Pfalz 1997 Klostergut St. Lamprecht – Duttweiler / Pfalz 1998 Heger – Ihringen…
Tim Colla discovered his passion for winemaking while traveling through Argentina during a post-high school gap year. After completing his studies in Fine Art and Chemistry at Columbia University, he returned to Argentina to start his career in wine with…
Michael Brughelli, co-owner and winemaker of Scar of the sea wines, has worked his way through a variety of vineyard and winery roles over the years. Having served in winemaking positions in Enda Valley, Arroyo Grande Valley, Napa, and New…
