Michael Beaulac, Winemaker at St. Supéry, is responsible for the entire portfolio of St. Supéry wines; developing blends for the Napa Valley, Meritage and Dollarhide Ranch Limited Edition wines and managing the entire production staff. He has been involved with northern California winemaking since 1989 when he moved to the region from New England to pursue a career in winemaking. Before joining St. Supéry in 2001, Michael’s winemaking included work at Murphy Goode in Sonoma County, and Markham Vineyards in Napa. “I subscribe to the school of honoring the grape variety’s fruit integrity, which is also a philosophy in place at St. Supéry,” Michaels says.  “I enjoy working with Bordeaux varieties and working with St. Supéry’s three estate vineyard properties.” Beaulac holds a Bachelor Degree in U.S. History from the University of Vermont.  Michael will deliver Friday’s Lunch Keynote address as well as sit in on the panel discussion “Napa Cab Roundtable”.

Peter Brehm, owner of Brehm Vineyards, has been helping amateur winemakers make better wine for over 35 years. He founded the retail shop Wine and the People in Berkeley in 1970 and began introducing home winemakers to fresh premium and ultra-premium grapes from renowned regions such as Carneros, Dry Creek, Stag’s Leap, Rutherford Bench, the Columbia River Gorge and Willamette Valley. He also has experience working at wineries such as Cape Mantelle in Western Australia and Cloudy Bay Winery in New Zealand. In 1991 he created White Salmon Vineyard and Winery and recently assisted in the birth of the Columbia Gorge AVA. Brehm Vineyards is a leading provider of fresh and frozen grapes. Peter will speak on “Cold vs. Warm Climate Red Grape Techniques.”

Chik Brenneman is the Winery Manager and Winemaker for the University of California at Davis.  He is responsible for supporting the teaching and research winemaking activities.  In any given harvest he will make wine from over 50 different varieties.  Prior to coming to UC Davis he worked as the Production Lab Manager for Woodbridge Winery in Lodi.  He has worked  as cellarmaster for both Amador Foothill Winery and Domaine de la Terre Rouge in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley after receiving his Master’s Degree in Enology in 1998.  He started making beer and wine at home in the early 1990’s. Chik will lead two seminars, “Mastering Maceration” and “Keys to Avoiding Oxidation.”

Alison Crowe has led a secret double life since 1998 as professional winemaker by day and “Wine Wizard” columnist for WineMaker  by night. She has answered hundreds of winemaking questions for readers over the years and a collection of her columns was recently released as “The Winemaker’s Answer Book” by Storey Publishing. Alison earned an Enology degree from University of California at Davis before winemaking stints at Byington Winery, Bonny Doon Vineyards as well as Bodegas Salentein in Argentina. She is   currently a Napa-based winemaker for Plata Wine Partners with a collection of vineyards around California. Alison will answer winemaker questions during her “WineMaker  Columnist  Q&A” keynote address during Saturday’s lunch as well as speaking on the  “Top 5 Winemaking Mistakes to Avoid.”

Bruce Devlin is winemaker at Ballentine Vineyards in St. Helena, CA and has been there since 1999.  He brings international insight and techniques to Ballentine Vineyards.  His background brings both old world and new world style to handcraft wines specific to each variety and vineyard site.  Prior to this, Bruce earned his degree in Fermentation Science at U.C. Davis and has conducted studies that were published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture.  Bruce has also worked in Sonoma County at Geyser Peak Winery, and has traveled and harvested internationally.   Bruce met his wife, Danielle, while at U.C. Davis, and they traveled the world together.  She also works in winemaking at another highly respected Napa winery.  They spend many nights discussing and critiquing the wines that they are so passionate about.

Sigrid Gertsen-Briand is the Technical Support Manager in North America for Lallemand, Inc., a manufacturer of a wide variety of winemaking products including dried yeasts, yeast nutrients and enzymes. She has a B.Sc. degree in Microbiology from McGill University in Montréal. She started her fermenting career in the quality control lab of Mosti Mondiale, a kit and fresh juice supplier. She then worked at Pelee Winery in Ontario before joining Lallemand. Sigrid will help attendees “Fermentation Troubleshooting” and also speak on “Measuring MLF.”

Wes Hagen received his viticultural and winemaking training from the University of California at Davis extension program. He is the Vineyard Manager and Winemaker for Clos Pepe Vineyards in Santa Barbara County, California, where he grows Chardonnay and Pinot Noir for a variety of wineries including his own. Wes also covers the world of backyard vineyards for WineMaker writing our “Backyard Vines” column every issue since 2000 as well as on his blog on winemakermag.com. He will lead seminars on “Vineyard Pest Management”, answer common (and not so common) questions during his “Growing Grapes Q & A” as well as participating at Saturday’s keynote address “WineMaker Columnist Q & A.”

Pat Henderson is the Senior Winemaker at Kenwood Vineyards in the Sonoma Valley. In addition to his work at Kenwood, he is also a winemaking instructor at Santa Rosa Junior College where he has taught since 1991. Pat is a graduate of the Viticulture and Enology program at the University of California at Davis. After graduation he worked in both the Napa and Sonoma Valleys before taking his first position as Head Winemaker at Hedges Cellars in Washington State in 1995. After returning from the Northwest he became Winemaker at Valley of the Moon winery where he worked for six years before returning to Kenwood Vineyards where he previously served as Enologist 10 years before. Pat co-authored the book “About Wine”; a textbook on wine for culinary students. He will be leading seminars on “The Role of pH & Acidity” and “Measuring and Adjusting pH & Acidity”.

Tristan Johnson is the manager of MoreWine! in Concord, California, a major retailer of winemaking equipment and supplies for both hobby and professional winemakers. Tristan runs MoreWine's testing lab, answers questions for customers as well as acting as the assistant winemaker for their onsite commercial winery. He also enjoys brewing his own beer. Tristan will speak on "Oak Alternatives."

Lone Jorgensen is the Chief Winemaker, Technical Advisor & Research & Development Manager at RJ Spagnols, a leader in manufacturing and marketing personally crafted wine and beer kits. Lone has a Master’s degree in Food Science and Technology from the University Of Copenhagen, Denmark & is a student of the Winemaker Certificate Program from University of California at Davis. Lone has been instrumental in innovative new product development in winemaking for over five years with R J Spagnols. She is also responsible for overseeing the technical aspects of winemaking and ensuring all quality standards.

Dr. Stephen J. Krebs runs the viticulture and winery technology program at Napa Valley College. As part of his duties, he teaches viticulture classes and manages the student vineyard. He holds a doctorate, master of science and bachelor of science from the University of California at Davis, all focusing on viticulture. He has also served as viticulturist and manager for Sunny Slope Ranch in Glen Ellen, Matanzas Creek Winery in Santa Rosa, and Mayacamas Vineyards in Napa. Stephen performed field research on grape varieties in Europe and California for author Jancis Robinson’s book Vines, Grapes and Wine. He  will lead two seminars during the conference: “Vine Pruning Strategies” and “Choosing the Right Trellis System for your Vineyard.”

Daniel Pambianchi is the General Manager of Maleta Estate Winery in Ontario and was recently awarded the Ontario “Wine of the Year” trophy for his oak-aged Vidal icewine. Many hobby winemakers are very familiar with his popular book “Techniques in Home Winemaking” as well as his “Techniques” column in every issue of WineMaker. Daniel also serves as the magazine’s Technical Editor reviewing all articles for accuracy. Daniel will cover “Traditional (and not) Sparkling Wine Techniques” and “Macroaeration and Microoxidation for Wine” as well as sitting in on the keynote panel discussion “WineMaker Columnist Q & A.”

Neva Parker holds a bachelor's degree in mircobiology from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA.  She became interested in beer while studying abroad in London when she attended the annual Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) festival.  Neva manages laboratory operations at White Labs and has been responsible for researching and developing new products and services, as well as speaking at several workshops and conferences.  She is a member of the American Society of Brewing Chemists and defending AHA homebrew club of the year, the Quality Ale and Fermentation Fraternity (QUAFF).  In her spare time, Neva enjoys spending time with her beer enthusiast husband, Glen, and teaching her dog Kylie tricks.  Her hobies include cooking, eating, brewing, organizing, and happy hour.  Neva will be speaking on “Using Liquid Wine Yeast Strains.”

Bob Peak, Partner in The Beverage People, a home winemaking and homebrewing shop in Santa Rosa, California, planted his backyard hobby vineyard in 1999.  Before joining The Beverage People in 2003, he was general manager at Vinquiry, a wine testing laboratory in Windsor, California.  As a home winemaker, Bob’s most recent award was a silver medal at the Sonoma County Harvest Fair for his 2006 Chardonnay.  Bob holds a degree in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and has pursued additional studies in grapes and wine at Santa Rosa Junior College and the UC Davis Extension. Bob will speak on “The Fine Art of Fining” and “Understanding Wine Aging.”

Jef L. Stebben, an award-winning professional winemaker, has been in the wine industry since 1995. He has a B.S. in Fermentation Sciences from University of California at Davis and has experience working in all aspects of production with wineries ranging from one hundred to one hundred thousand cases. In 2002 Jef started Stebben Wine Consultants, a company that focuses primarily on the small Boutique Winery, filling a much needed demand for quality winemaking on a smaller scale. He currently resides in Napa with his wife and daughter. Jef will lead Saturday’s WineMaker Workshop on “Wine Defects Tasting” and sit in on the panel discussion “Napa Cab Roundtable.”

Dr. Lisa Van De Water divides her time between Napa and New Zealand, and regularly visits Chile and South Africa as a wine consultant with her company The Vinotec Group. She worked as an experimental enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery, then founded The Wine Lab in the Napa Valley in 1975, and Pacific Rim Oenology Services in New Zealand in 1992. Known internationally for her knowledge of fermentation problems, wine microbiology and spoilage, she is often called “The Bad Wine Lady” because of her focus on what can go wrong with wine. In 2003 Lisa turned over operation of The Wine Lab to Gusmer Enterprises, to free up more time for consultation and international activities through The Vinotec Group. Lisa will speak on “Avoiding Microbial Problems during Yeast and ML Fermentation” and “Avoiding Microbial Problems in the Cellar and Bottle.”

Tim Vandergrift has worked in the home beer and wine industry since the early 1990’s and has been the Technical Services Manager for Winexpert Limited, a kit manufacturer based in British Columbia, since 2000. His responsibilities at Winexpert include product development, quality assurance for raw materials, technical documentation, consumer education and translating winemaking protocols for home consumers. Tim writes the “Wine Kits” column in WineMaker magazine and blogs about wine kits on winemakermag.com. Tim will lead Friday’s WineMaker Workshop session “Wine Components Tasting” as well as speak on “Wine Kit First Aid” and participate in Saturday’s keynote “WineMaker Columnist Q & A.”