Dennis Cakebread serves as Cakebread Cellars senior vice president of sales and marketing where he focuses on the critical role of establishing and expanding long-standing relationships with consumers, restaurateurs, retailers and distributors.

In 1986, Dennis joined Cakebread Cellars on a full-time basis to lead the winery’s sales and marketing initiatives and handle the finance and administration side of the business. As the winery grew, his focus changed to the marketing and sales of the wines.

When Dennis finished graduate school, he went into public accounting, and then spent eight years as a chief financial officer in the banking and financial services industry.

Dennis holds a bachelors of science degree in accounting and finance from the University of California at Berkeley and a MBA from California State University at Hayward. He also held a CPA license.

He has served on the Board of Directors and as President of the Napa Valley Vintners Association, the Wine Service Cooperative and the Napa Valley Wine Auction. He is currently active on the Board of Directors of Free the Grapes and the Coalition for Free Trade.

Giovanni Folonari, Managing Director of Ten ute A & G Folonari, attended grammar and high school in Florence and later pursued academic studies with a degree in fermentation and oenology from the University of California, Davis in 1998. After a six-month apprenticeship with a California winery where he focused on research and micro-vinification, and his army service, he joined the family firm as vineyard and production manager in 1991.

Oenology has always been an integral part of his life, working summers and vacations in all aspects of viniculture — vineyards, cellars, and lab, working his way up to assistant cellar master. He now lives at the Cabreo Fattoria di Zano with his wife and children.

John W. Gay is Chairman Emeritus of Southcorp Wines, The Americas. He was previously Chairman, President & CEO of Southcorp Wines, The Americas, and before that, President of Rosemount Estates, Inc., when Australia’s largest family-owned winery merged with Southcorp Limited. With Rosemount, he was instrumental in building the company to one of the major players in the U.S. wine market.

Born and educated in California, he began his career in wine working for a wine and spirits shop in San Francisco while attending college. After completing his degree and post-graduate work, he was appointed general manager of Marin Wine & Spirits, a prominent and successful group of fine wine and spirits shops in Northern California. He finished his career there as Executive Vice President/COO.

With a desire to move from retail into winery management, John joined Sebastiani Vineyards as Vice President and General Manager during a critical transition period in the winery’s history.

In the early 1980’s, he established a consultancy firm that was involved in marketing and financial planning for Napa and Sonoma wineries and companies. During that period, he consulted with a company that was developing a plan to import and market Australian wines in America. In that capacity, he travelled to Australia regularly, where he studied and tasted Australian wines and visited most of the wineries and viticultural areas. He joined Rosemount Estate as President for The Americas in 1986. Wines & Vines has identified him as one of the 50 most influential people in the wine business.

As Chairman Emeritus of Southcorp Wines, The Americas, John concentrates on long-term strategy, special projects and industry relations.

John Gay lives in Kenwood, California, with his wife Barbara, where they grow Shiraz grapes.

Merryvale Vineyards President and Chief Executive Officer Peter K. Huwiler brought his diverse skills and background to this family-owned Napa Valley winery in 1996. A native of Switzerland, Huwiler earned an MBA at the University of Washington before owning a successful chain of restaurants in Seattle. He joined the wine industry at Stimson-Lane and eventually served as Director of National Accounts and International Sales at Kendall-Jackson Winery. In all, Huwiler’s wine industry experience spans over 20 years.

Working with Merryvale Proprietor Jack W. Schlatter and his son René Schlatter, accomplishments at Merryvale since 1996 include significant improvements in vineyard sources and wine quality, a dramatic increase in wine production and international market reach, the addition of acclaimed director of winemaking Stephen Test to the team in 1998, a complete label and packaging re-design, attention-getting advertising campaigns and a comprehensive upgrade of the winery’s content-rich website.

Merryvale currently produces over 80,000 cases of ultra-premium Napa Valley and Sonoma wines available throughout the US and dozens of countries in Europe and Asia. The winery has earned numerous awards and continues to gain critical acclaim for its outstanding wines and service.

Born and raised in Florence, Italy, Aldo Rafanelli first began his career in wine as a vineyard consultant during the early 70's, in what was later dubbed the "Revolution" of Tuscan wine making. Piero Antinori was among the first of leading wine producers as they replanted their vineyards with modern and innovative techniques, utilizing new clones and varietals. A hobbyist wine and extra virgin olive oil maker, Aldo married a New Yorker, and the happy couple relocated to the U.S.

Aldo started a new venture, selling Italian wines of high image and quality. Since 1987 in charge of the sale of Antinori for the U.S.A. and from 1993 for North America, Aldo travels extensively across the continent, always in search of a better place to eat.

A fanatic outdoorsman, Aldo loves fishing, hiking, hunting, canoeing and camping (whenever possible). When indoors, his passion is cooking (possibly something that he hunted, fished or gathered himself). It’s not uncommon for his phone to ring, with friends and colleagues from all over calling to consult him on recipes for pasta and Tuscan cooking.

Although he and his family (wife and two boys) are avid skiers, he never feels more at home than in a vineyard climate blessed with sun and warmth.

Michaela Rodeno, dynamic CEO of St. Supéry, is one of the leading women in the California wine industry and a passionate advocate of California wine issues. At St. Supéry, she is responsible for managing all the winery's activities, from strategic planning, grape growing and wine production, to finance, new product development and marketing and sales.

Born a Navy officer’s daughter in Lakehurst, New Jersey, Michaela and her family moved many times before settling in California when she was 12. Michaela earned a B.A. and M.A. in French Literature at University of California, at Davis where she also met her husband who was a law student. “Gregory wanted to be a country lawyer so in 1972 we moved to the Napa Valley where a friend of his was working for the D.A,” recalls Michaela. She took on three part-time jobs, two at Napa Valley College where she oversaw the publication of its catalog and taught French, and her third was as a tour guide at Beaulieu Vineyards—in fact, the winery’s first female tour guide.

Just a few months after her arrival in Napa, the Valley was abuzz with the news of Moët-Hennessey’s (now LVMH) plans to invest $8 million in building a new winery in the county… Domaine Chandon. This was the first French company to invest in a California winery, and it was a clear signal of Napa’s growing image as a key wine region. Michaela, with her fluency in French, and a burgeoning desire to learn more about wine, sensed she had to get involved. Through persistence and a mutual acquaintance, Michaela was introduced to John Wright, Domaine Chandon’s president. Impressed with her drive and willingness to learn, he hired her to be his assistant and employee number two at the new winery. Michaela says that the important lessons learned at that position still inform her successful management style today. “John didn’t believe in hierarchy and maintained a flat, door-less organization,” says Michaela, “At St. Supéry there are no ‘doors.’ I encourage open discussion and the free exchange of ideas – anything is possible if you have the desire to do it.”

Through her tenure at Domaine Chandon for over 15 years, Michaela’s successful marketing efforts quickly established the winery as the quality leader in California sparkling wine. She rose to the position of vice president of marketing, and also earned her M.B.A. in 1980 from UC-Berkeley. As one of Napa Valley’s only fluent French speakers at the time, she met the major French winemakers and winery proprietors who were visiting Domaine Chandon. One of those individuals was Robert Skalli who was captivated by the Napa Valley and became determined to open a winery there. He felt sure that Michaela’s business savvy, knowledge of the wine industry and successful track record was what he needed, and offered her the position of C.E.O. of his new winery, St. Supéry. Michaela agreed, recalling, “I was ready for a new challenge. The chance to join another startup, this time as C.E.O., was too tempting to pass up.”

During her career, Michaela has carefully guided the winery onto the market and through a period of explosive growth. St. Supéry’s Napa Valley estate Cabernet Sauvignons, Sauvignon Blancs and new Meritage wines have earned numerous awards and critical acclaim for the winery, which is still growing into its planned capacity of 180,000 cases by 2010. Known for its innovations in winemaking and commitment to consumer education, St. Supéry Vineyards & Winery is acknowledged as a must-see winery for visitors to the Napa Valley. While American accounts contribute 90% of its sales, St. Supéry is also enjoying notable success in the U.K., France, Switzerland, Canada and Japan.

Michaela's life is as wine-focused as her career. She is often invited to speak at domestic and international conferences. She co-founded of Women for WineSense, a national organization promoting wine as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle, and continues to be involved in industry-wide issues. She served on the boards of California’s Wine Institute and the Napa Valley Vintners’ Association in the early ‘90s and in 1994 she chaired the marketing committee that governs 85% of the NVVA’s activity. She is a founding director of the Wine Market Council, an initiative to create a national generic marketing campaign for wine, and she chaired the 1998 Napa Valley Wine Auction, the nation’s largest charity wine auction, which raised a record $3.8 million for local health care organizations.

Michaela is on the board of the American Vintners Association, and in 1999 was elected chairman of the Meritage Association. In the April of 2001 she was elected to the Board of Directors of Silicon Valley Bank, where she still serves.

She lives on her family’s 25-acre vineyard near the town of Oakville in the Napa Valley with her attorney husband Gregory and their two children. The family also owns 40 acres in Pope Valley in the Napa Valley appellation. Although most of the family grapes are sold to Napa wineries, the Rodenos produce a tiny amount of Sangiovese (about 150 cases annually) under their Villa Ragazzi label.

Co-Recipient of the first annual Boca Bacchanal Award of Excellence

One could say that Warren Winiarski was meant to make wine-after all, his last name translates to "son of a vintner" in Polish. Born in Chicago in 1928, he grew up in a close-knit Polish community. As a hobby, Warren's father made mead, dandelion wine, and fruit-flavored wines for family holidays and ceremonial events. As a small boy, Warren would press his ear against the barrels of homemade wine and listen to the mysterious sounds of fermentation. Little did he know that one day, he would change the way the world regards California wines.

After obtaining a graduate degree at the University of Chicago and gaining an appreciation for wine at the casual dining table while living in Italy for a year, he and his wife Barbara began to ponder a way to live a more rural lifestyle, a place where they and their young children could grow and perhaps be involved in a family business. Fast forward to 1964, when the Winiarski family relocated to the scenic Napa Valley. Warren had a vision of creating a new wine from the fruit of an American vine, rather than the storied vineyards of Italy and France.

The Napa Valley was experiencing a winegrowing renaissance. Warren managed to secure an assistant position at Lee Stewart’s Souverain Cellars, working closely with the winemaker to learn the craft. A year later he planted a three-acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, and in what was to forecast his future success, Warren was the first to plant the varietal in an area that would later become known for its great Cabernets. After being invited as assistant winemaker at Robert Mondavi’s winery in 1966, the first new winery in the Valley since Prohibition, Warren began to search in earnest for the perfect terroir, a place to create his dream wine.

After a long search, he found just the place on the Eastern side of the Valley, by the rocky Stags Leap Palisade. Here, he and his wife, along with a group of partners, purchase the land that would become build Stags Leap Vineyard (S.L.V.). After planting to Cabernet and Merlot, in 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars opened its doors. Just three years later, the fruits of Warren’s labor would pay off.

In a world where the great vintages of Europe reigned supreme, few would have even dared to consider that California wines could compete. But at the now-famous 1976 Paris tasting, a panel of French experts chose Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ 1973 S.L.V. Cabernet Sauvignon in a blind tasting of red wines, over some of the most highly regarded Grand Cru Bordeaux—leaving both the audience and judges awestruck! The event made news around the globe, and both Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and the Napa Valley became internationally recognized.

Since that time, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars has continued to produce wines that have won critical acclaim, including its white wines. It is best known for estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons including CASK 23, regarded among the finest Cabernets in the world. Warren, always dedicate to elevating the quality of wine, has lectured, authored articles, and been instrumental in encouraging a more sophisticated method of scoring California wines. In 2001 he served as president of the London-based International Wine & Spirit Competition, where he has sponsored the Cabernet Sauvignon trophy since 1986. Warren continues to teach, tutoring a week each summer with the St. John’s College Summer Classics program at the college’s Santa Fe campus.