CHEF STUART BRIOZA & CHEF NICOLE KRASINSKI

STATE BIRD PROVISIONS | THE PROGRESS

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Stuart attended of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park New York, where he graduated with top honors. He then began his cooking career in the 1990’s working for Chef John Hogan in Chicago at the acclaimed Savarin restaurant. Nicole’s pastry and baking skills were first nurtured at the Red Hen Bakery in Chicago under Chef Nancy Carey.

When it comes to culinary power couples, Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski are definitely among the coolest. They are the chef-owners of two of San Francisco’s most exciting restaurants: State Bird Provisions, which specializes in small plates served up dim-sum style (try the quail), and The Progress, a theatre-turned-eatery that offers a prix fixe, tasting-menu-style dining experience with plenty of quirkiness mixed in. 

With a never-ending list of accolades—including being named best chefs of the Western United States by the James Beard Foundation in 2015—their unabashed creativity and ability to offer two distinct and dynamic culinary experiences has not gone unnoticed.

Andy Peay | OWNER, PEAY VINEYARDS

SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

Andy started Peay Vineyards with his older brother, Nick, in 1996. Their goal was to make wines that capture the purity and unique sense of place like the great wines they enjoyed drinking from the Old World. To that end, the brothers decided it was critical for them to own and farm their own grapes in a climate much cooler than they had experienced in the New World. In 1996, they purchased an old sheep ranch on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean on the extreme West Sonoma Coast - where folks said it was too cold to ripen wine grapes - and began planting in 1998.

Andy’s brother Nick runs the 51-acre vineyard and his wife, Vanessa Wong - former winemaker at Peter Michael with stints at Château Lâfite Rothschild and Domaine Jean Gros - makes the wine. In addition to working in the vineyard during harvest, Andy handles all sales, marketing, finance, and just about anything else required to spread the gospel of Peay Vineyards. Amen.

Peay Vineyards was the first to grow grapes in the northwestern corner of the West Sonoma Coast. The 50 acre vineyard lies at 600 feet elevation, 3 miles from the chilly Pacific Ocean. A cool afternoon ocean wind, our placement in the cold coastal inversion layer produced by the Pacific Ocean, and our ancient marine soils allow us to produce wines of elegance, intensity and focus.

Matt Bean

Editor-in-Chief, Sunset Magazine

Matt Bean is the Editor in Chief of Sunset Magazine and an entrepreneur advising start-ups and early-stage companies. He is the former editor-in-chief of Men’s Health. Formerly he was senior vice president of editorial innovation at Time Inc., where he led a group charged with extending the company's award-winning content. Bean came to that role from Entertainment Weekly, where he was editor. Before helming EW, Matt served as managing editor of SportsIllustrated.com, where he launched numerous digital brands, pioneered Time Inc.'s long-form content strategy, and was awarded an Emmy for his multimedia work in 2013. 

Laely Heron

Owner | Winemaker, Heron Wines

Laely Heron's unconventional upbringing in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the US may explain the wanderlust which has led to her passion for international wine studies and winemaking. She began at the Institute of Enology in Bordeaux, and worked with wines in the US, Australia, and Scandinavia before starting Heron Wines 24 years ago. Laely has made wine in France, Spain, and Napa. In 2014 she became the proud owner of 2 small vineyards; one in Chateauneuf-du-Pape and the other in Gigondas, Domaine Lux Fontis.

DIERBERG VINEYARD

FEVER-TREE

FIRST REPUBLIC

HIGHLAND PARK

JACKSON FAMILY WINES

JH STILL WORKS

MACALLAN

MERCER WINE

NAKED GROUSE

PEAY VINEYARDS

WYOMING WHISKEY