Coy Barnes along with his wife Sarah turned their passion for wine, entertaining, and the rural countryside into a thriving wine tour company called “The Wine Wrangler”. Cole is an educator and winemaker, growing his own zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah on the family’s property in Paso Robles.
Christine Bohle is head of sports, festivals and consumer events marketing at Eventbrite where she leads a team focused on developing deep industry insights and understanding to help the event organizer community create great live experiences that can reach more consumers, increase fan engagement with their brands and drive overall business growth.
Michael Cervin is a wine and spirits writer based in Santa Barbara, and author of of the wine travel book “California Wine Country.” He is the wine and spirits writer for The Hollywood Reporter, Contributing Central Coast Editor for The Tasting Panel Magazine, and he contributes to Decanter (London), Fine Wine & Liquor (China), Wine & Spirits, Palate Press, and IntoWine – for whom he writes several “Top 100 Most Influential” lists. He has served as a wine and spirits judge at the Best of Vinho Verde Awards in Portugal, the Taste of Rum Festival in Puerto Rico, the California State Fair Wine Competition, the Central Coast Wine Competition, The San Francisco International Wine Competition, and San Diego International Wine Competition, among other professional and charity competitions. He is the restaurant critic and contributing travel writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press and his wine and spirits blog, Boozehoundz, reviews beverages from across the globe.
Raphael Domalik is serial entrepreneur who kicked off his career with a tech startup but eventually found himself in the music industry. The recent advancements in cloud based technology, near field communications and blue tooth low energy was just the catalyst needed to venture back into the tech world. Raphael founded Allxs Media which together with strategic partners has developed a Cloud Based Platform combining Time Day, Customer Data, and Proximity Using Bluetooth Low Energy Beacons, GPS, Wi NFC and RFID Technology, merging physical and digital experiences. If you don’t know what all this means, attend his workshop on Mobile Marketing!
John Flaherty, and his wife Virginia own and operate a small adventure travel company based in San Luis Obispo County, California. They work with group travel planners and travel tour operators, as well as individuals to provide outstanding outdoors tours on California’s Central Coast region, including Paso Robles wine country vacations. Our three main activities are kayaking, bicycling and hiking.
Brigid Harris is General Manager, Direct to Consumer and leads all aspects of the multi-channel Direct to Consumer business, including tasting rooms, wine clubs, e-commerce activities and telesales for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (Acacia Vineyard, Beaulieu Vineyard, Provenance & Hewitt Vineyards, Rosenblum Cellars and Sterling Vineyards). Her background includes over 20 years of marketing experience including Brand Management and Direct to Consumer Marketing at Disney Consumer Products, Restoration Hardware, Gap Inc., Smith & Hawken and Cost Plus World Market. She was also VP of Direct to Consumer at Jackson Family Wines previously and she and her husband manage their own wine brand in Healdsburg, CA.
Natasha Hayes oversees both direct to consumer and trade marketing as well as public relations for the Crimson Wine Group. Ms. Hayes’ background includes managing brands such as Kendall-Jackson, Ravenswood, Blackstone and Lindemans. She began her career at Beringer Blass (now Treasury Wine Estates), working both in the U.S. and Australia, and was instrumental in helping the Wolf Blass brand establish its #1 status in terms of volume and value. Marketing positions at both Constellation Brands, Inc. and Kendall Jackson further cemented her knowledge of the leading U.S. wine brands.
Don House is Managing Director and co-owner of Integrated Digital Media Group, where he has a primary focus on culinary marketing activations that bring consumers together with food and wine brands in an informative and accessible style. He was a founder and past Vice President of Redpoint Media Group and publisher of its Avenue and Wine Access magazines. He created the Canadian Wine Annual, Canada’s most comprehensive guide to the Canadian wine industry. Don has more than 15 years of governance experience and is currently the Chairman of the Alberta Culinary Tourism Alliance.
Stacie Jacob is a brand strategist, communications specialist and marketing professional who launched Solterra Strategies, a lifestyle marketing firm based in Paso Robles that represents clients with a unique sense of place: food, wine, agriculture and tourism. Jacob served on the Board of Directors and is Past Chair for the San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau charged to market tourism countywide. In 2008, Jacob was recognized as one of the Top 20 Under 40 leaders by the San Luis Obispo Tribune.
Michael Kaiser is the Director of Public Affairs for WineAmerica. In this role, Michael is the public face of WineAmerica, actively recruits new membership, and gets the association’s message out to the masses. Michael is a regular fixture at industry trade shows and conferences throughout the country. He has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Vineyard and Winery Management Magazine, Wines and Vines and Wine Spectator. In addition to his duties at WineAmerica, Michael is a member of the Board of Directors of Drink Local Wine and the Advisory Board of the Craft Beverage Expo.
Camron King is the Executive Director of the Lodi Winegrape Commission, overseeing all of the Commission’s marketing, promotion, strategic planning, and regional branding efforts, as well as grower constituent relations. He is the primary spokesperson for the Lodi wine industry. In addition to his work at the Commission, Camron serves on the Program Development Committee for the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Grape and Wine Initiative.
Alan Kropf, founder and president of Mutineer Magazine and Mutant Drinks Marketing, is a leader among the next generation of beverage professionals. Kropf has won numerous awards for his marketing and media work, including Forbes 30 Under 30, The Daily Meal Coolest People in Drink 2013 & 2014, Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40, and Wine & Spirits Magazine 30 Under 30. Kropf is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, holds an Advanced Certificate with Merit through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, is a Certified Beer Server through the Cicerone Certification Program.
Hilarie Larson CSW,FWS is a Wine Educator, Sommelier and co-owner of Northwinds Wine Consulting. She works with winery owners and related businesses to develop well-trained teams through comprehensive wine education and service training. She also speaks at consumer-oriented events, hosts tastings for corporate and private clients and contributes wine-related articles to two recognized blogs: Wine Folly.com and International Wine Accessories.She was honored to be awarded the 2013 Emerging Writer Scholarship from IFWTWA – the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association.
Paul Mabray’s leadership as the Chief Strategy Officer for Vintank is the driver for the overall vision, strategic direction and product development for the company. Handling all of the business development and sharing the vision for product development allows him to be in a key position to connect emerging technologies for the wine industry. Paul has been in the wine and spirits industry for over twenty years.
Larry Martin is the owner of Food and Wine Trails, a destination tour company that takes more than 3,000 wine lovers a year to over 25 different countries. He’s designed wine education trips for over 100 wineries and has been recognized for three years as the “World’s Best Wine Travel Specialist” by the editors of Conde Nast Traveler.
Brant Myers has eight years experience in the Craft Beer industry on California’s Central Coast, including creating two successful beer-based businesses. His latest endeavor is Hop On Beer Tours, on its second year, transporting beer lovers to SLO and Santa Barbara county breweries. Brant is also co-host of Central Coast Craft Beer Radio on KRSH 92.5, a Cicerone CBS, card-carrying Beer Connoisseur and lover of local beers.
Alf Nucifora is the Chairman and Founder of The Luxury Marketing Council chapters in San Francisco, Carmel/Monterey, Napa and Sonoma. The Luxury Marketing Council is a global organization representing more than 1000 of the world’s leading consumer luxury brands. In his role as head of The Luxury Marketing Council, Alf has provided advisory and collaborative marketing services to many of the leading wineries, vineyards and industry organizations in Napa and Sonoma.
Jackie Saunders is Vice President of Marketing at Visit Loudoun, the destination management organization for Loudoun County, Virginia and its incorporated towns. She previously worked for 12 years for the Canadian Tourism Commission, where she left as Director of Promotions and Partnerships.
Jeremy Schubert is the co-founder of Lunabean Media, which focuses on web and social media marketing. He has designed and developed the web presences of: International Pinot Noir Celebration, Panther Creek Cellars, Ron Kaplan Photography, R. Stuart & Co. Winery, and Remy Wines, as well as created custom Facebook and Twitter presences for: Li-Ning USA, Willamette Valley Wineries Assoc., R. Stuart & Co. Winery, Weinstein PR, Oregon Wine, Nike Portland, and many more.
Andrea Smalling is Chief Marketing Officer at Foley Family Wines, where she leads the marketing of 13 wineries and 20+ wine brands, direct to consumer sales, events and hotel/lodging properties. Prior to working for Foley Family Wines Andrea was employed by Constellation Brands, Fosters Group / Treasury Estates, and E&J Gallo.
Jamie C. Smith, a resident of Paso Robles, is currently the Marketing Director at Firestone Walker Brewing Company. He has over 10 years of marketing, retail & events experience in the craft brewing industry. Jamie has helped guide Firestone Walker from a small regional brewery to a top 20 U.S. Craft Brewer.
Jan M. Smith, Founder of the Hospitality and Human Resource Consultancy, Inland Management Group, supports the tourism industry with guest service initiatives and human resource support. Jan is an eight-year board member for the Temecula Valley Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, and as the Chair of the Hospitality Task Force, has brought several exciting service initiatives to the Temecula Valley Southern California Wine Country. Jan regularly presents workshops, keynotes, and training to the tourism and hospitality industry to promote guest service and tourism growth.
Janet Tupper is the Owner of Mercantile 12, a social merchandising company featuring quality durable American Made Goods. She collaborates with designers and makers of products to produce modern vintage items celebrating the local terroir and evoking wine country memories.
Wendy van Diver is the Editor in Chief of Touring and Tasting Marketing and Media. She is responsible for the entire editorial content of the magazine from article conception and creation, through design and production. Wendy also contributes to the company’s social media efforts.