Rajat Parr has cultivated a varied and distinguished career in wine. His first chapter was as a sommelier and wine director, beginning with his tutelage at San Francisco’s wine mecca Rubicon under the great sommelier Larry Stone and culminating years later as wine director for the Michael Mina group, where he was in charge of the wine programs in over twenty restaurants across the United States. During this time, he began the sow the seeds for his second chapter, as winemaker. Already a celebrated wine taster and explorer, Parr began to collaborate with other winemakers, notably the late Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, to create his own small brand of wines. This experience led to him to deepen his engagement with wine production through his ongoing collaboration in vineyard and winery with winemaker Sashi Moorman and their successful brands Domaine de la Côte, Sandhi, and Evening Land. In recent years, Parr has continued to trace this trajectory to its natural terminus, becoming a winegrower himself. In recent years, he has joined with Phelan Farms of Cambria, California to farm and make the wine from their vineyards, focusing on regenerative agriculture and natural winemaking.
Karen MacNeil is the only American to have won every major wine award given in the English Language. These include the prestigious James Beard award for Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, the Louis Roederer award for Best Consumer Wine Writing, the International Wine and Spirits award as the Global Wine Communicator of the Year and the Wine Appreciation Guild’s Wine Literary Award. In a full-page profile on her, TIME Magazine called Karen “America’s Missionary of the Vine.” Karen has been named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Wine in the United States.”
Karen is the author of the award-winning book, THE WINE BIBLE (now in its third edition), praised as “a masterpiece of wine writing.” THE WINE BIBLE has sold more than one million copies and was featured in the 2020 Netflix series Uncorked and the Starz series Sweet Bitter.
As a second-generation Sommelier and restaurateur, Philippe André has been a leader in the wine and hospitality industry for almost two decades. Philippe first developed a passion for hospitality and wine education growing up in the fine dining restaurant business. He answered his professional calling as the Wine Director of the highly awarded wine program at Oceanique restaurant in Evanston, Illinois managing a cellar of over 1,300 selections and overseeing a dedicated Sommelier team. In 2013 Philippe accepted a winemaking apprenticeship at one of the world’s greatest biodynamic vineyards, The Momtazi Estate, located in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. After harvest he returned to Chicago to join the nation’s leading rare wine auction house, Hart Davis Hart Wine Co., sourcing and sharing the rarest wines with passionate collectors all over the world. In 2018 Philippe was offered a chance of a lifetime and accepted the U.S. Ambassador role at Charles Heidsieck to re-launch the historic brand in New York and to bring the wines of the Crayères onto the grand stage they deserve.
Julia Coney is a Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas-based award winning wine writer, speaker, and consultant. Julia is the Wine Consultant for American Airlines in partnership with the James Beard Foundation. Julia is the Founder of Black Wine Professionals, a resource for the wine industry whose goal is to lift up the multifaceted Black professionals in the world of wine. Julia is the recipient of Wine Enthusiast’s 2020 Social Visionary Award Winner for her work in writing and speaking on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the wine industry. Wine Industry Network has named her one of Wine’s Most Inspiring People for 2022. Julia is the Wine Columnist for Sweet July Magazine and a former Contributing Editor at VinePair. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Wine Enthusiast, Thrillist, The Tasting Panel, Plate Magazine, Forbes.com, The Washington Post, the Financial Times, and numerous print and digital publications. Julia is a lifelong Francophile and an inveterate traveler. You can find her on all social media at @juliaconey, her newsletter Métier, and with a wine glass in hand.
Most oenophiles venturing abroad to get a taste of the Old-World French wine culture bring home memories of unforgettable meals or a new favorite producer. Ian brought home his life-calling and a passion for Pinot noir and Chardonnay. His post-college winemaking stints abroad—propelled by a wine education degree from Cal Poly—instilled an undying appreciation particularly for cool-climate winemaking.
Ian’s reverence for these two noble varieties ultimately led him to Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Archery Summit. After years of making wine on both sides of the equator, Ian made his Oregon winemaking debut at prominent Willamette Valley label Evening Land Vineyards.
Ian considers Burgundian winemaker Dominique Lafon among his greatest mentors and is constantly impressed by the sense of community in the global wine country, whether it’s in the French countryside or on the crush pads of the Dundee Hills. Driven by the pioneering spirit of New World enology, Ian continues to help chart Archery Summit’s iconic path while honoring the uniqueness and history of its Dundee Hills sites.
Vice President of Winemaking, Megan Gunderson began her career in the Napa Valley in 2001 when she moved from Colorado to California and worked as an intern at Robert Mondavi Winery. Early on, she discovered a passion for wine and viticulture and went on to become a Laboratory Manager for St. Supery Vineyards in Rutherford, then Dominus Estates in Oakville. At Dominus, she was able to refine her winemaking skills under the mentorship of Christian Moueix and Jean-Claude Barrouet, learning to hone her winemaking craft with unique methods.
In 2005, she joined HALL Wines as Enologist and quickly rose through the ranks with increasingly central roles within the winemaking operation. In 2018, Megan was promoted to Vice President of Winemaking, leading the wine program for the three, family-owned luxury brands, HALL, WALT and BACA Wines. Her multiple degrees in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics have given her a unique and unmatched perspective into the scientific aspects of winemaking.
Domaine des Comtes Lafon was founded by Dominique’s great grandfather, Comte Jules Lafon, in the early 1900s. It owns outstanding white wine (Chardonnay) vineyards in Meursault and Le Montrachet, and red wine vineyards (Pinot Noir) in Volnay and Monthelie. The average total production for 16 hectares (40 acres) is 7,000 cases, of which one third are red. The domaine moved to organic and biodynamic farming by 1998, having started trials in 1995. Dominique purchased for the family a domaine in the Maconnais, Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon, in 1999 – starting with 7ha with additional purchases in 2003, 2009 and between 2014 and 2016 to reach 26 ha today. Dominique started his own company “Dominique Lafon” in 2007, working 4 hectares in the Cote de Beaune. He also consults in Oregon, firstly with 7 Springs vineyard (2007-14) and subsequently with Larry Stone for the Lingua Franca label. Dominique has two children, Léa (born 1989) and Guillaume (1991) with his former wife, Anne Roumier.
Laurent-Perrier was established in 1812 and is now the largest family-run and female-led House in Champagne. Thanks to its long tradition of innovation, it can be credited with many techniques that have defined Champagne production over the centuries. The House is fiercely independent and makes only champagne and is noted for its House style of freshness and elegance. Laurent-Perrier has been at the vanguard of sustainability efforts in Champagne and has achieved the sustainability certifications of High Environmental Value (HVE) and Viticulture Durable en Champagne (VDC). The House is most renowned for its unique Cuvée Rosé, made exclusively from Pinot Noir.
Melanie completed her studies in Viticulture and Oenology at the University of Adelaide, where she was the recipient of the Wolf Blass Prize for Excellence in Winemaking (2011) and the David Bradley Memorial Prize (2012), indicating the promise of an outstanding contribution to the wine industry.
In 2014, Melanie became the youngest ever scholar selected for The Len Evans Tutorial. In 2015, she was named Young Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine, and in 2018, Melanie was recognized by Young Gun of Wine as the People’s Choice award. Mel is a sought-after wine judge and currently is the Chair of Judges at the prestigious Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, the home of the Jimmy Watson trophy.
Melanie’s love affair with Giant Steps started long before she became Head of Winemaking and Viticulture, collecting the wines from our iconic vineyards for her personal cellar for many years. Her long-held admiration for the winery comes with an intrinsic pressure to honour the individual personalities and qualities of our sites. For Mel, this means keeping the winemaking tight and transparent, so the diversity of place is what you taste in the glass.
Now as the General Manager of Giant Steps, Mel brings an intense passion for wine and great Burgundy.
Michael Brajkovich, New Zealand’s first Master of Wine (MW), holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Oenology from Roseworthy College in South Australia, where he graduated top of his class. Michael is a member of the Institute of Masters of Wine in London as well as a respected wine judge in both New Zealand and Australia.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather Mick and father Maté, Michael has added formal education to the pragmatism learnt from his father.
As a winemaker, Michael aims to be recognised as producing world class Chardonnay. One of the defining characteristics of Kumeu River Chardonnays is they are made in the old world style of classic French wine making. Rather than having a heavy oak presence from aging in a barrel, they are lighter, more refined, and designed to age in the bottle.
