Sabrine graduated with a Master’s of Science in Viticulture in and Enology from UC Davis in 2004. She immediately began working at San Saba Vineyards, filling a brand new empty winery; sourcing equipment, and arranging the layout. In 2007 the Thomas Family changed the focus of San Saba Vineyard to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and Wrath Wines was born, refocusing the brand to premium wine production.
In 2011 Sabrine started her own small label Scratch, in which she focuses on Chardonnay Sparkling Wine from San Saba Vineyards, Riesling and Grenache from the Arroyo Seco, Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands, and Cabernet from the Santa Cruz Mountains. Scratch has a tasting room in the Carmel Valley Village. She also is the Winemaker for a few other small pilot brands. Sabrine is now heading into her 23rd harvest as a Winemaker.
Sabrine is married to Koorosh Afshari, who is a mediator in the San Francisco Bay Area. They have a home in the Santa Cruz Mountains where they enjoy raising hens, gardening heirloom tomatoes, and looking up at the stars.
Kryss Speegle MW is the Executive Vice President of Winegrowing at O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, one of California’s fastest-growing wine producers and a leader in sustainability.
With over a decade at O’Neill, Kryss oversees all aspects of grape sourcing, vineyard operations, and winemaking, while also leading the company’s business-to-business sales division. As a member of the executive leadership team, she plays an instrumental role in shaping the company’s strategic direction.
Prior to her tenure at O’Neill, Kryss held various winemaking roles across Northern California. She also teaches, mentors young professionals, and is passionate about building knowledge and inspiring future talent in the wine industry.
Kryss earned her BA in History from the University of Virginia and MS in Food Science/Enology from the University of California, Davis. She holds a Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and is a member of the Institute of Masters of Wine.
Raised in Santa Barbara, Brooks graduated from UCLA where she studied sociology and communications. While there, she worked for Sports Illustrated handling sales and marketing programs as well as market research for prominent advertisers.
Upon graduation, Brooks worked at UBS Financial Services where she managed client relations and marketing programs for a high-net-worth wealth management team. After finishing her Certified Financial Planning degree at UCSB, she realized she wished to follow her passion for wine.
Since joining Margerum Wine Company in 2010, she has used her financial background to quantify sales goals, manage national sales strategy, forecasting, and market growth across on-and-off-premise channels. With extensive experience building high-performing sales teams and cultivating long-term distributor and trade relationships, Brooks plays a key role in expanding Margerum’s presence while preserving its focus on terroir-driven, artisan winemaking. She brings a practical, market-focused perspective to wine education, bridging the gap between vineyard, cellar, and consumer.
Samantha C. Taylor is the Assistant Winemaker at Hope Family Wines. A native of Lodi wine country, she holds a degree in Wine Business from California Polytechnic State University.
Taylor joined Hope Family Wines in 2010 and has progressed through hands-on cellar roles spanning harvest operations, fermentation management, and production execution. In her current position, she supports day-to-day winemaking and cellar operations across the Hope Family Wines portfolio, working closely with the winemaking team to deliver consistency, quality, and scale within a multi-brand production environment.
With more than a decade of practical cellar experience, Taylor brings an operations-driven perspective on California winemaking, production logistics, and the realities of managing growth in a modern winery setting.
Whitney Hrdlicka is Head of Trade Marketing at Hope Family Wines in Paso Robles, where she leads trade marketing strategy across the winery’s multi-brand portfolio, supporting national and regional sales engagement and market development.
Hrdlicka holds a Bachelor of Science in Experience Industry Management from California Polytechnic State University where she also serves on the Experience Industry Management Advisory Council, contributing industry guidance to students and faculty.
Prior to Hope Family Wines, she built extensive beverage industry experience, including roles in direct-to-consumer and winery marketing operations. She has been a visible advocate for connecting wine marketing with broader hospitality and experiential trends.
Julie Berge is Vice President of Communications and Member Relations at Wine Institute, the public policy advocacy organization representing more than 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses. In this role, Berge leads strategic communications, member engagement, and narrative development to advance the Wine Institute’s mission of supporting sustainable growth, public policy advocacy, and global competitiveness for California wine producers.
Berge brings more than two decades of experience in communications and advocacy across highly regulated industries. Prior to joining the Wine Institute, she served as Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Western States Petroleum Association, where she steered messaging around complex policy issues and coalition building. Her career also includes senior communications roles at VSP Vision and leading global communications firm FleishmanHillard, where she worked with food and wine clients to connect producers with consumers and stakeholders through compelling storytelling.
Known for blending collaboration, strategy, and storytelling, Berge focuses on amplifying the narrative of California wine’s economic and cultural impact. Whether the topic is trade, sustainability, consumer trends or regulatory change, her goal is simple: make the message matter and make it move people.
Born in Templeton, CA and raised on the Tablas Creek Estate since 1998, Austin (better known as “Boo”) was practically born in a barrel. The rolling hills of the Adelaide were his stomping grounds until he moved to the North Coast to study Wildlife Sciences and Creative Writing. After being away from his homeland for five years he made the choice to return to assist the family’s business: Bristols Cider.
After deciding that fermentation was his chosen path he was hired as a harvest intern at local winery Linne Calodo. Following that he spent six months in France split between Meursault’s Domaine Matrot and in the Rhone working with the Perrins at Chateau de Beaucastel. Having enough of the French he then spent a vintage working under Helen Masters at Ata Rangi in beautiful Martinborough, New Zealand. After another vintage at Linne Calodo Austin started full time at Tablas Creek in 2019. He can be found mostly in the cellar and occasionally working in the vineyard.
Outside of wine he enjoys long hikes with his wife Taylor, rock climbing, fermenting foods, and of course cider!
John Keleher is the founder and CEO of Community Benchmark. With a background in software entrepreneurship and consulting—including work with the World Bank—John launched Community Benchmark in 2018 to help wineries turn tasting-room, club, and revenue metrics into actionable insights. He believes the world would be a better place with more wine, is currently obsessed with helping wineries crush their goals, and welcomes all goal oriented conversations.
Peter Andrews, DipWSET, MBA is the founder of Culture Wine Co. and a 15-year industry veteran whose career spans wine retail, executive roles in the trade, and teaching for Johnson & Wales, the CIA Greystone, and WSET. He serves on the Program Development Committee for the Unified Grape Symposium and is a former board member of the Glancy Wine Education Foundation.
Peter began his career as a chef, cooking across the U.S. and in Northern Italy, where he first fell in love with wine. After returning home, he completed an MBA with the goal of building a people- and story-driven wine business. That vision led to Culture Wine Co., dedicated to championing bold, soulful wines and the producers behind them.
He is the co-founder of Hella Chenin—the only Chenin Blanc-focused wine festival in the U.S.—and of Small Poppies Wine Collective, an importer group supporting underrepresented regions and small-scale producers. Peter was named a 2025 Wine Industry Leader by Wine Business Monthly.
Linzi Gay brings over 20 years of experience in wine and specialty food to her role as President of Clif Family Winery & Farm. After graduating with a marketing degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, she launched her career in brand management at Clif Bar & Company.
Having grown up in Napa Valley, she returned to her roots in 2004 to learn the wine business working on some of the largest wine brands in the Napa Valley. In 2007, she returned to Clif Family and their recent startup wine and food business. She has spent the last 19 years in a leadership role at the company, transitioning to President in 2022.
Linzi serves on the boards of the Howell Mountain Vintners and Growers Association, St. Helena Chamber of Commerce and Oak Knoll District Growers Association. In 2024, Linzi joined the Napa Valley Vintners Grants Review Committee.
She also dedicates her time to using business as a force for good in the wine industry, guiding Clif Family to become Napa Valley’s third B Corp Certified winery in 2023. Beyond Clif Family, Linzi remains actively involved with organizations advocating for climate action and a healthier planet.
