Chip Sheean is a designer, art director, creative director, and the Chief Creative Officer at Theory SF in San Francisco. He began his career in Los Angeles, working for some of the largest agencies on the West Coast. Later, he moved to Napa Valley, where he served as a design director in the wine and spirits industry crafting award-winning packaging and brand stories for many notable clients including Silverado Vineyards, Tank Garage Winery, and The Rolling Stones.

Outside of work, Chip is an avid cyclist, resides with his family in Marin, and dedicates his time to sharing his passion for design and branding. He has taught at Otis College of Design and currently holds a professorship at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.

After ten years spent in construction management, including five years at one of the nation’s leading contractors, I rewrote my career to pursue opportunities in the wine regions of California’s Central Coast.

Over the past decade, I was privileged to lead the Direct-to-Consumer and Hospitality divisions for two of Santa Barbara’s premier wine producers, JONATA and The Hilt Estates, growing them from a team of one, to a team of eight. Recently, we launched a new division, Business Development, where I am focused on growing our presence within the sports and entertainment industry.

I currently serve on the Board of Directors for World of Pinot Noir and was formerly the Vice President of the Santa Barbara Vintners Association Board of a Directors.

Eric Mohseni comes to Scott Laboratories with over 25 years of Central Coast winemaking experience. He has held director of winemaking and viticulture positions at both family wineries and large custom crush facilities including Zaca Mesa and Krushwerks. In his current role, he leverages his background to help clients problem solve and find the right processes to achieve their stylistic goals.

Ian owns a winery in Salinas, CA, that focuses on the regions surrounding the Monterey Bay. He is parents to twins Eleni and Isaak, and to 3 wine labels: Le P’tit Paysan, La Marea and I. Brand and Family.  Ian sources grapes for these labels from 4 counties greatly influenced by the Monterey Bay: Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.  

Like most of us in the wine industry, Ian did not take the shortest path between Middlebury College and his career as a winemaker.  Rather, he spent time as a Grisly Bear Guide in Alaska, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador and as a ski bum in Tahoe.  Finally, he arrived at Bonny Doon Vineyard, where he began in the maintenance department, and eventually graduated to cellar work.  

In 2018 Ian was named SF Chronicle Winemaker of the Year.

Susan DeMatei has over 30 years of luxury direct marketing experience, but in the past 18, she has worked exclusively in the wine industry. In 2012 Susan started WineGlass Marketing, a full-service direct marketing agency for the alcohol space.

Susan holds a B.S. in Communications from Boston University and an A.S. in Viticulture from Napa Valley College. She is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Specialist in Wine/Wine Education with the Society of Wine Educators and was awarded a DMA (Direct Marketing Association) award for strategic excellence. She is the marketing columnist for Grapevine Magazine, Crush Magazine (Canada) and a frequent freelance writer and speaker at conferences. Susan also is a marketing instructor at the WISE Academy as well as Napa Valley Community College, and a repeat lecturer at the Institute for Enology & Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College and California Polytechnic State University. She is currently collaborating on two marketing and sales textbooks.

Her firm, now in its eleventh year, is based in downtown Napa and supports domestic and international wine and spirits clients with both B2B and DTC marketing in digital as well as traditional channels. For two consecutive years, Inc. Magazine recognized WineGlass Marketing as the only Napa company listed in the top 250 hyper-growth tier of the “5000 Series California’s Top Companies”. WineGlass Marketing is also admired by the community winning the North Bay Bohemian “Best Creative Agency” spot for the past three years as well as being honored as Napa’s “Best Company to Do Business With” in the 2021 North Bay Business Journal. The firm’s creative strength is acclaimed winning 11 Platinum, 20 Gold and 14 Silver national and international creative awards for websites, social campaigns, and emails within just the past 24 months.

WineGlass Marketing is located at 531 Jefferson Street in Napa and also can be reached online at www.wineglassmarketing.com or by calling 707-927-3334.

Bob has a degree from Oregon State University.

In 1991 he began as a vineyard manager for Mesa Vineyard Management in Santa Barbara County.

In 2003 he moved to San Luis Obispo County as a vineyard manager for Castoro Vineyard, where he converted all of their acres to certified organic and certified SIP.

Kirstie graduated from Sonoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in Wine Business and Marketing. She began her career at Hamel Family Wines in Sonoma as their Operations Manager until she moved to New York.  Working for the largest NY distributor, Empire Merchants, she ran a sales team in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In 2020 Kirstie moved back to the west coast, exploring a new region that had yet received the recognition it deserved. Kirstie oversees all aspects of Holman Ranch from events, winemaking, lodging, and ranch management. Adding to her wine experience and knowledge, she has earned her Wine Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level Three certification.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Fintan (Fin) du Fresne received his undergraduate degree in Geology before continuing into Post-Graduate studies in Viticulture and Enology. Fin has worked all over the world, living in Europe for several years before coming to California. Fin’s career began in the vineyard, growing Pinot Noir in the esteemed Martinborough region of New Zealand. His first California harvest was at Calera with the late Josh Jensen, one of the pioneers of Californian Pinot Noir. From there he moved on to Adelaida Cellars on the Westside of Paso Robles before moving to Chamisal Vineyards in the Edna Valley while peppering in several harvests in his native New Zealand.

During his tenure at Chamisal Vineyards Fin has produced a multitude of high-scoring wines. He has served on the Board of Directors for the World of Pinot Noir, San Luis Obispo Coast Collective and the Vineyard Team. He has strong ties to the local industry including Cal Poly’s Wine and Viticulture program as a guest lecturer and research partner, including coauthoring the ASEV Best Enology Paper in 2022. Fin loves science and enjoys trialing products, techniques, and technology. There is very little he hasn’t tried at least once.

Fin is passionate about sustainability and has pioneered many innovative sustainability projects during his career involving renewable energy, energy conservation, water recycling, habitat restoration, biodiversity, carbon capture and sequestration. Fin recently received his Executive MBA in Wine Business from Sonoma State University. His spare time is spent outdoors; camping, mountain biking, rock climbing, snowboarding and scuba diving.

David Baird is a skilled and talented winemaker who has devoted years to perfecting his craft in the vineyards of California’s Central Coast. He holds a winemaking degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He has gained extensive experience by working at various locations across the Central Coast, honing his skills and expertise to an exceptional level.

In 2015, David became a part of Folktale Winery, which was still in its early days and needed a unique identity centered around producing high-quality, terroir-driven wines. David’s creativity played a critical role in shaping the winery’s approach to winemaking.

At Folktale Winery, David has embraced and applied old-world techniques such as whole cluster fermentation, lower sugar/higher acid grapes, and native fermentations. These techniques have resulted in a fresh and innovative approach to winemaking that sets Folktale Winery apart from others in the region.

The winery’s unwavering commitment to quality and innovation has paid off in spades, as they have received numerous awards and accolades for our exceptional wines. David’s contribution to the winemaking process is invaluable, as his expertise and creativity have helped establish Folktale Winery and its wines as a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

Kyle Knapp was born and raised in Lompoc, CA and is very familiar with the surrounding hills and climate. He grew up camping  surfing up and down the state.

With no college degree in viticulture or enology Kyle learned by doing. Kyle began his winemaking career in 2005, working his first harvest at Ballard Canyon’s Beckmen Vineyards. Like others who thrive on the arduous but rewarding experience, Kyle was hooked, and immediately following that harvest, traveled to Australia for his second round. He returned to Santa Barbara County to work an additional harvest and shortly thereafter assumed the role as Stolpman Vineyards’ Assistant Winemaker, a position he held until 2010.

Kyle then worked as Beckmen Vineyards’ Assistant Winemaker until 2016, when he became the Head Winemaker for Stolpman Vineyards (a position he still holds today).

Time spent in the vineyard working along side of Stolpman Vineyards, Ruben and Maria Solorzano, is one of the most important jobs for Kyle. Together they can theorize and dream of the best and most efficient ways to make the best wines. While using a minimalist stripped-down approach in the cellar to make distinctive wines of place and character. His winemaking style honors many of the tried-and-true winemaking methods, like whole bunch carbonic fermentation, while also staying true to the Stolpman way of always growing and searching for new and improved ways of making world class wines. You will often hear Kyle say “less is more” and “purity results in better wines”, rules he lives by.

Along the way, Kyle began experimenting with winemaking for his own label and in 2006 made his first Press Gang Cellars Grenache – although the real ‘coming out’ year for the brand wasn’t until 2010. Since the beginning, his focus has been on Grenache, Syrah, and Roussanne, all sourced from top vineyards in Ballard Canyon, Santa Ynez Valley and Sta. Rita Hills AVA’s. His wines are made in extremely limited quantities and beautifully capture the terroir, purity and character of the region.