Jason Heller born and raised in Southern California is currently working at Vino, a wine bar and restaurant in Honolulu. Graduating in 2000 from Hawaii Pacific University with a Bachelor in Business Administration, majoring in Marketing, Jason pursued a career in finance and marketing while simultaneously studying and passing the Certificate course for the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Margaux Marie Pierog is currently the wine buyer and sommelier for French 75 Brasserie and Chat Noir French Bistro, in Costa Mesa, CA. After graduating from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration School with a concentration in independent restaurant operations, Ms.Pierog’s experience includes the Four Seasons in Philadelphia as well as the renovated Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach. Her future ambitions involve the incorporation of international business with wine. Margaux is grateful for the many ‘blind tastings’ that her family has given her; and the opportunity to be a part of the Société Mondiale du Vin ‘Young Sommelier Competition’.

Andrew Thomas McNamara joined the sommelier team at The Breakers Palm Beach in March of 2005. Andrew is one of four staff sommeliers dedicated to L’Escalier, the award-winning signature restaurant at The Breakers guiding the clientele in selections and wine pairs. He is also responsible for contributing to the maintenance and upkeep of the resort’s 22,500-bottle wine cellar. Prior to The Breakers, Andrew worked and consulted for Arthur’s Wine Shop in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as setting up the wine lists for two of Charlotte’s restaurants, The Meeting House and McIntosh’s Steak House, both of which won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. Andrew graduated from Davidson College in 1996 with a BS in Mathematics.

Canlis Restaurant Lead Sommelier, Nelson Daquip, has rapidly risen through the ranks from server assistant to assistant wine director in only three years. Food and Wine Magazine featured Nelson in their June 2005 profile of national up-and-coming sommeliers. Nelson earned a culinary degree from Kapiolani Community College through the University of Hawaii and served at the prestigious Alan Wong’s restaurant in Hawaii for three years. He joined Canlis in 2002 and has since earned his place in the much-coveted Canlis Vintership Program. Nelson became a Master Sommelier candidate by passing his advanced course for the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Brett Zimmerman is the Director of Fine Wine with Southern Wine and Spirits of Colorado and has been since 2004. This followed twelve years of working in nationally renowned restaurants across the U.S.A. Brett was Sommelier at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago and Sommelier at Aqua in San Francisco. Returning to Colorado, he opened his own restaurant, Mateo in 2000. His passion for wine, however, led him to study the Court of Master Sommelier’s Master Sommelier program. Brett graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Business Administration.

Christian Varas is the Sommelier/Wine Director for Cap Juluca Resort, Anguilla and manages the wine program for all of the restaurants on the property. He also owns and created Jocahu Caffe and Tasting Room on the West End of Anguilla. Born in Bayside, New York, Christian studied and completed the Windows on the World wine course, the American Sommelier Certification course, and is in the final stage of completing the Diploma Certification from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust.. Past employers include Park Hyatt, Regent Properties and Rothmann’s Fine Dining Group. Now conducting all monthly culinary events programs at Cap Juluca welcoming wine figures from around the world.

Drew Hendricks is part of the wine team at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas since 2004, following his graduation from culinary school. His passion for wine led him to attend classes offered by the Court of Master Sommeliers, Wine and Spirits Education Trust amongst others. In 2005 Drew Hendricks co-founded the Texas Sommelier Association and hosted the first annual Texas Sommelier Conference. Wine & Spirits Magazine named him one of 2005’s “Best New Sommeliers”. Drew is committed to wine education.

Fernando Beteta is the Manager of award winning NoMI Restaurant at the Park Hyatt Chicago and prior to that was Sommelier at The Dining Room, the Ritz-Carlton Chicago’s fine dining restaurant. Fernando has a great deal of experience in the travel and hospitality industry. Son of a chef and restaurant owner in Antigua, he is also the great grandson of Italian winemakers. After attending the L’Ecole Hotelier de Lausanne in Switzerland, Fernando worked in Rome, Florence, Sardinia and Thailand and is fluent in six languages. He is studying to be a Master Sommelier of the Court of Master Sommeliers.

James Hamilton is a sommelier at Le Bec-Fin. Working with Christophe Tassan, premier sommelier of France 2004, he moderates the 500 bottle list at Chef Perrier’s 36 year old restaurant in Philadelphia. James honed his knowledge and wine tasting skills by engrossing himself in the study of wine and began pursuing the Master Sommelier diploma. He passed the Introductory Course in March of 2005 and received the Certified Sommelier Certificate this past March. James has also volunteered with Old Wines as an assistant to Marnie Old in Philadelphia’s, and has audited the wine classes required by the BA program at the Philadelphia Restaurant School. He is currently preparing himself for the advanced courses offered by both the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Wine and Spirits Education Trust.

Jason Ferris’s career in the restaurant business spans 20 years involving the big cities of New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Jason recently completed the opening of Gilt Restaurant at the New York Palace Hotel in New York City. Under his direction, Gilt’s wine program features 1200 selections by the bottle and 35 by the glass as well as deep verticals of classified Bordeaux, rare Burgundy, and cult California Cabernets. Jason is a Master Sommelier Candidate, passing the Court of Master Sommeliers Advanced Examination in August of 2005.

Julia Schiavone is the wine director at Green Valley Grill and Lucky 32 restaurants in Greenville, South Carolina. Since arriving at Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels in November 1999, Schiavone has expanded the wine selections, added reserve lists that feature limited production wines, and hosted wine dinners. Her next project is to expand the Lucky 32 list to include 75 wines by the glass and increasing Green Valley Grill’s wine list to over 400 selections. Julia received her Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators in February 2005 and has a psychology degree from the College of Charleston.

Jake Kosseff is the wine and spirits director for Campagne Restaurant and Café Campagne in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. In Seattle he has served as Beverage Director at The Blowfish Asian Café, Wine & Spirits Director for Six Degrees Restaurant Group, and Wine & Spirits Director at Cascadia. Jake holds a Sommelier Certificate with the American Guild of Master Sommeliers and has a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Classical Languages and History of Science from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD.