Chris Hussey is the Assistant Winemaker for Dave Phinney’s Our Lady of Guadalupe (OLG) in the Sta. Rita Hills. Having only ever worked for Dave in the wine industry, Chris started in 2015 as a harvest intern and worked his way up to his winemaking position today. Under the mentorship of Dave, Chris has helped craft wines for Orin Swift Cellars, The Crane Assembly, Locations, Aftermath and other small brands, with OLG being the next step in his winemaking career.
Born and raised in Singapore, Chris was introduced to wine at an early age and thanks a trip to Puligny-Montrachet as a young teen where he had his first ever glass. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and lives with his wife in the beautiful town of San Luis Obispo on California’s Central Coast. You can catch him playing golf, attempting to surf, rooting on the Cal Bears and sipping on local craft beer—lagers, typically.
Winemaker Casey Di Cesare joined Scheid Family Wines in 2017. His innovative spirit has served him well as lead winemaker for the Sunny with a Chance of Flowers and Metz Road brands, as he explores new techniques for making great wines.
One of the techniques he developed was a proprietary process to craft Sunny’s low-alcohol, zero-sugar, low-calorie wines. The wine quality created through this process helped catapult the brand to a top ‘Better for You’ brand in the market. Sunny has earned multiple 90+ point scores across the seven wines in its line-up, making it the highest rated wine in the category. In 2024, Casey also took the lead as Lean Champion at Scheid Family Wines, developing efficiency-improvement processes and projects across the portfolio.
Casey enrolled in Cornell University and received his Master’s degree in Enology while studying in the Finger Lakes AVA. Upon graduation in 2017, he joined Scheid Family Wines, where he has flourished with the creative opportunities that the broad portfolio offers.
Casey was named a 2021 Wine Industry Leader by Wine Business Monthly and was selected in 2022 to represent Monterey County as a Founding Board Member of the Vintners Institute. In 2024, Casey was named a Wine Enthusiast Future 40 Tastemaker
Tim is responsible for overseeing Presqu’ile’s visitor experience as well as the Direct-to-Consumer and wholesale sales channels. Tim brings a wealth of hospitality and wine sales knowledge to his role as Director of Hospitality and Sales. Originally from Minnesota, his experience includes Beverage Director and interim Director of Operations for The Kitchen restaurant group in Boulder, Colorado. During his tenure there Tim oversaw operations, building the business from one location in Boulder to seven restaurants in four states where he was responsible for training and supervising all beverage managers. Tim also created front-of-house best practices that were implemented store-wide with points of service, standard operating procedures and manuals. Earlier in his career, Tim founded and owned a small importing business focusing on wines from Italy and Portugal, sold in 2009. He is talented in other areas and is a retired semi-professional mountain biker, avid surfer and artist.
Dave is the founder of both Municipal Winemakers and Potek Winery, which showcase a dual approach to winemaking: fun and accessible with Municipal Winemakers, and a more traditional, terroir-focused approach with Potek. Dave’s journey into the world of wine started in Santa Barbara, where his passion for wine was kindled during his time at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He later traveled to Australia to complete a MS in Oenology and Viticulture. International exposure to wine in California, Australia, and France has allowed him to incorporate a range of techniques and approaches into my winemaking. Dave is known for his innovative approaches, both in terms of winemaking and in marketing and presentation. Municipal Winemakers, for instance, is known for its quirky and eclectic tasting room and branding.
Chelsea Sprague grew up surrounded by agriculture in the Central Valley of California. From a young age, she developed a deep appreciation for the agricultural industry, which would shape her future career. Seeking to further her education and passion for agriculture, Chelsea moved to the Central Coast to obtain an Agricultural Business degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly, SLO). Chelsea immersed herself in her studies and fully embraced Cal Poly’s ‘learn by doing’ philosophy, gaining practical experience that would serve her well in her professional journey. During her time at Cal Poly, she joined the team at Booker Vineyard & Winery in 2011, eager to apply her education and make a meaningful impact in the wine industry. For more than 13 years, Chelsea has been an integral part of Booker’s team, dedicating herself to all aspects of the business. Her contributions have been instrumental in the successful launch of two additional brands in the Booker portfolio – My Favorite Neighbor and Harvey & Harriet.
An Oregon native, Dan grew up influenced by the Pinot Noir vineyards of the Willamette Valley. He went on to study Wine & Viticulture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo before embarking on a journey to fine tune his craft in wine regions worldwide. In 2013, Dan joined the winemaking team at Villa San Juliette and took the lead as head winemaker in 2015.
The dynamic winemaking style at VSJ achieves balance and complexity while highlighting the natural character of the fruit. The wines are made in small lots with precision and care, aged in French barrels, and blended throughout the aging process to fully integrate the flavors that result in cohesive and elegant wines.
Scott Shapley and ROAR go way back, to the winery’s first vintage in 2001, which was made at Siduri, where he was assistant winemaker. A Monterey county native and graduate of US San Diego with a degree in biology, Scott has since built an impressive resume as winemaker for Crushpad, Roessler Cellars, R-Squared Wine Company and Halcon Vineyards. He is an extremely talented winemaker, with a particular expertise in crafting limited production, cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Scott joined ROAR with the 2012 harvest – the vintage that landed us on the Wine Spectator’s list of TOP 100 wines.
Coby Parker- Garcia and his wife, Katie Noonan, along with their daughter Callie, have a combined 30+ years of experience in the wine industry here on the beautiful Central Coast of CA.
Coby Parker-Garcia has been on the winemaking side of the industry since 2002 and fell in love with Pinot Noir long ago. Katie and Coby met through working at neighboring wineries and instantly shared a combined passion for good wines, especially Pinot Noir. Katie’s background in the industry stems from 10 years in the marketing and direct to consumer side of the business, so with combined passions and experience, El Lugar was born in 2013!
In 2013 the started with two vineyard designate Pinot Noir’s from Bien Nacido and Russian River. Today they currently have 5 vineyard designate Pinot Noir’s, the popular Pinot Noir Blanc, Rosé of Pinot Noir and a Syrah to offer customers.
After 2 years of planning and construction the new winery and tasting room are open. The production of all wines will be made at the new location next door to the tasting room. We look forward to welcoming visitors to El Lugar, the place!
Drew graduated with a degree in enology and has experience working at several wineries in the area – both as a college intern and as a professional. He most recently serves as the head winemaker at ONX Wines in Paso Robles. It was not only the experience he gained through education and hands-on training that gave Drew the tools and talent for winemaking. He grew up looking up to his father, Robert Nenow of Robert Nenow Winery and his Aunt and Uncle, Lisa and Les, of Behrens Family Winery and Drinkward Peschon, who each inspired him to pursue a career in winemaking. Drew has a true passion for his craft and his goal is to always bring distinct and delicious wines to you and your loved ones
Liz Mercer grew up in the Napa Valley, which instilled a deep respect for the culture and lifestyle of wine and the industry supporting it. She left the area to attend Northwood University in Michigan, where she studied Finance & Business Management. She joined the wine industry as a temp in a tasting room in 1999. Shortly thereafter, she was drawn into direct-to-consumer sales via wine clubs and e-commerce, where she led a team to rebrand the wine club, establishing it as one of the largest wine clubs in the country. Over 25 years, she has held various leadership roles with wineries on the Central Coast and the Napa Valley, while working with WISE. In 2024, she left day to day winery operations and joined WISE full time as a Partner and DTC Coach.
Liz earned her Master of Professional Studies in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America. Liz witnessed the landscape of direct-to-consumer sales environment change drastically over the last 20+ years as the industry has matured and is excited to be a part of developing the next generation of direct marketers.
