Site Contributors

Brad Johnson, Editor & Publisher

Bio: Brad is a writer, promoter, advocate and vocal supporter of the New Wine Culture. Assistant winemaker at Fireside Winery, Co-founder/writer of Two Wine Brothers, Contributing writer for Make Mine Wine magazine.
Website: www.winedustry.com

Jill Johnson, Director of Sales

Bio: Jill brings her considerable science and communication skills to Winedustry. Knowledgeable. As a co-founder of the Eastern Iowa Wine Club, the largest amateur winemaking club in the Midwest, she has hands-on experience in the vineyard and winery.
Website: www.winedustry.com

Kim Orth, Illinois Field Editor

Bio: Kim Orth has grown up in the Illinois Wine Industry with her parents, Brenda and Kelly Logan being the owners of Baxter’s Vineyards & Winery in historic Nauvoo, Illinois. Brenda and Kelly are the fifth generation of Baxter’s to operate a winery operation in Nauvoo. Kim has spent many years working on and off for Baxter’s and has been employed full time with her parents since 2007. Currently, Kim works as the staff accountant at Baxter’s Vineyards and maintains the bookkeeping duties at the winery.
Website: www.nauvoowinery.com/

Jeanette Merritt, Indiana Field Editor

Bio: Jeanette Merritt is the Marketing Director of the Indiana Wine Grape Council. In her role, she is based in the Food Science Department at Purdue University. Jeanette is responsible for the promotion of Indiana’s 52 wineries. She works with the media, manages many social media efforts, serves as a guest speaker and presenter for various groups and helps new wineries with their marketing efforts. Jeanette can be found on Twitter @ Indianawinebabe. She also serves as Director of Vintage Indiana, a wine and food festival highlighting Indiana wine and attracting 10,000 to the one-day festival. Jeanette serves as Marketing Director of the Indy International Wine Competition, the largest scientifically organized wine competition in the country. Jeanette and her husband reside with their 3 small children in north central Indiana where they are hog and grain farmers.
Website: www.indianawines.org

Stephy Grogeny, Ohio Field Editor

Bio: Stephy Gorgeny is a licensed intervention specialist for K-12 students having special needs and has been working in the field for 5 years. She attended Bluffton University where she was a member of the university's volleyball and dance teams and received her Bachelors in Education-Intervention Specialist. She is currently seeking a Master's degree from Ashland University in Educational Leadership. Upon graduation, she accepted a position at a private school where she helped establish a working intervention program with an emphasis on Autism Spectrum Disorder. She has coached both boys and girls volleyball at various levels both interscholastically and in junior olympics. In her free time, she enjoys watching or attending Browns, Indians, Brewers, and U of M Wolverines games, playing competitive kickball, working out, and spending time with her kitten, Blazer, and Goldendoodle, Ozzie, both rescues. She is a Brooklyn Hurricanes soccer fan and a native of Strongsville, Ohio. Most recently, she has been crowned the 2011 Ice Wine Queen for the Grand River Valley, by South River Vineyards (Ohio) for her written enthusiasm for local wines. She hopes to use this honor as a vehicle to further promote Ohio viticulture, wines, and tourism. Stephy would like to thank her family, friends, and especially her Grandmother, Anna, and boyfriend, Jack, for their love and support.
Website: www.ohiowines.org/

Pam & John Kane, Penn. Field Editors

Bio: Pam and John Kane have been traveling through the mountains of Pennsylvania for a number of years in search of unique wine experiences. They own and operate The Wine Chasers, a business that helps promote local wineries and shares the experience with novice to expert wine chasers who are also in search of their next favorite wine. Pam and John are weekend warriors of the various wine trails throughout Pennsylvania but depending on the weekend, they can also be found in neighboring states of New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Pam is a photojournalist who has an extensive background in event planning and management while John’s knowledge of marketing and product development spill over to form a unique approach to sharing the wine experience. The Wine Chasers believe that wine is best enjoyed by knowing the people behind the grape. They are advocates of visiting wineries, tasting before you buy and joyfully share the experience.
Website: www.thewinechasers.org

Marcus Maron, Georgia Field Editor

Bio: After many years in corporate finance and marketing, Marcus Maron has found a new career as an apprentice winemaker at one of Georgia’s largest wineries. The sales reports, stacks of paperwork and ever increasing quotas have been replaced by Cabernet stained pants, blistered hands and a conspicuous farmer’s tan – and he loves every minute of it. During his honeymoon, Marcus visited acclaimed wine regions of France and realized the importance of localized wine culture and its impact on micro-economies, as well as the pride of the area’s citizenry. Marcus, an affirmed locavore, is a major proponent of regional food sources and encourages the promotion and celebration of locally grown wine grapes. As a new resident of North Georgia, Marcus is enthusiastic about exploring Georgia’s burgeoning wine industry and looks forward to sharing his adventures in winemaking and viticulture with his readers.

Jon Westfall, New York Field Editor

Bio: Throughout his career, Jon has worked closely with many wineries and breweries, within NY State and the West Coast to brand and package their products for mass consumption. In addition to numerous awards for packaging creativity and annual attendance at industry relevant conferences in San Francisco and Napa Valley, Jon also spends a great deal of time with those he seeks to engage—wine enthusiasts. On the weekend you will find him working in the tasting room of a long-time valued client, Three Brothers Wineries and Estates in Geneva, NY. http://3brotherswinery.com/ It is this direct connection to the target market and working closely with the winemakers themselves, that allows him to effectively execute marketing tactics and create brand messaging and packaging that is more likely to evoke the desired visceral response. Jon hopes to take all of this experience, his unique perspective and understanding of the industry itself and help to take the Finger Lakes region (and specifically the wineries within it) to a level of those esteemed viticultural areas of Europe and California—where it belongs.
Website: westwordcreative.com/

Keith George, Texas Field Editor

Bio: Keith George is a Texas wine advocate and enthusiast. After retiring from the U.S. Army with 22 years of service he continued working as an Army Contractor, testing and evaluating Combat computer systems. However, on the weekends, his love for Texas wines grew into a larger part of his life. Pursing his Texas wine passion, he began working as the photographer for Texas Legato Winery, cataloging and recording Texas Legato throughout the year. Since that time his photos have been featured in Panache Publications and in local newspapers, touting the local Texas wine industry. He now supports the Legato family by working in the tasting room, helping out at special events around the Central Texas Area, as well as bottling, and assisting with the testing and blending.
Website: www.texaslegato.com/

Chris West, Missouri Field Editor

Bio: Chris is the Wine Maker and Co-Owner along with his wife, Jen, of West Winery in Macon, Missouri (www.westwinery.com). West Winery was started in 2007 and has quickly grown to include two additional locations in Northern Missouri. West Winery Jackson Stables in Kirksville, Missouri opened in 2009, and 2010 brought the addition of Cave Hollow West Winery at the World Famous Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, Missouri. Chris and his wife co-own Locovino.com (http://www.locovino.com/) - a railroad inspired wine series that brings the very best Missouri wines to a national audience through the use of the ever increasing rail fan base. Prior to becoming a winemaker, Chris worked for the University of Missouri – Columbia Hospital and System on computer projects, contracts and procurement, which has aided him in every aspect of starting a winery from the ground up. His philosophy on wine is that it is to be enjoyed anyway, anytime and with anyone.
Website: www.westwinery.com/

Lynita Delaney, Wisconsin Field Editor

Bio: After a visit to Italy in 2004, Lynita Delaney became completely hooked on red wine. In 2005, as an adventure in viticulture, she planted her first vines (Bluebell). Soon afterward, with the support of her husband and family, they began to transition out of the grain cash crop business and begin to farm grapes. Currently they have 7.5 acres of grapes in production, which includes: Marquette, La Crescent, St Pepin, Somerset Seedless, Reliance and Bluebell.
Website: www.elmarovineyard.com/

Lisa Smiley, Minnesota Field Editor

Bio: Lisa Smiley has been extensively involved in industry growth, marketing and establishing recognition of cold climate viticulture in the upper Midwest. She has served on the board of directors for the Minnesota Grape Growers Association and was Conference Director for the Cold Climate Grape and Wine Conference in 2006 and 2007. She is currently planning the 2011 Cold Climate Wine and Grape Conference. Her Masters Project was "A Review of Cold Climate Grape Cultivars”. She also helped rewrite the publication “Growing Grapes in Minnesota. She has a M.S. Degree in Professional Agriculture from Iowa State University and a B.S. Degree in Agricultural Industries and Marketing from University of Minnesota. As a Special Projects Coordinator for the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute, she coordinated symposiums and worked on projects to further increase awareness of cold climate wines. Lisa is currently serving on the American Society for Enology and Viticulture-Eastern Section and the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture Board of Directors . She lives on a farm in Southeast Minnesota where she and her husband have a vineyard.

Terry Johnson, Business Editor

Bio: Terry is the former director of wine at Restaurant 213 (Fruitland, MD), co-founder and writer of Two Wine Brothers wine blog, and flexes his MBA mind on important issues related to the New Wine Culture.
Website: twowinebrothers.blogspot.com/

Derek Whittington, Iowa Field Editor

Bio: Derek Whittington moved from Michigan to Iowa two years ago and brought with him a passion for wine. As Assistant Tasting Room Manager at Tassel Ridge Winery and Social Media maven, Derek is a proud advocate of the “other” grapes. He brings a passion for wine / grapes, and loves sampling a new wine. A member of The Wine Century Club, having sampled over 100 different varieties of grapes, Derek is advancing his wine education and will soon become a “Certified Specialist of Wine” (CSW). In addition to serving as the Iowa Field Editor for Winedustry he is developing a wine blog focused on non-traditional grape varieties, called “The Grape Beyond”.
Website: thegrapebeyond.blogspot.com/

Brian Roeder , Virginia Field Editor

Bio: With a solid background in international affairs, Brian Roeder has a long and varied career in construction and housing development, organizational development, and business and nonprofit management. As a leader in the Virginia Wine Council and the Balanced Growth Alliance, Brian (along with his wife, Sharon) are the owners and founders of Barrel Oak Winery LLC (BOW) in Delaplane, VA. BOW is a destination winery and the most successful start-up winery in Virginia; open for just over two years, this business is capitalized at $3.7M with gross receipts of $3M.
Website: www.barreloak.com/

Josie Boyle, Michigan Field Editor

Bio: Josie Boyle, a Minnesota native, is one of the first Des Moines Community College enology program students to receive the certificate of specialization in enology (Dec. ’09). She currently holds a position at L. Mawby Vineyards, the only winery in Michigan dedicated to sparkling wine production, located in Suttons Bay. Currently Josie is the lead cellar hand of the methode champenoise cellar; other duties include assisting in wine production and finishing in the cuve close cellar. Prior to this she interned at Vidal Estates in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. While her location in Michigan allows for some cool-climate V. vinifera varieties to survive, she views non-vinifera wine as a worthy challenge and supports the growing Midwestern wine industry. Outside of wine, Josie enjoys ultimate frisbee, disc golf, biking, and Lake Michigan beaches.
Website: www.lmawby.com

Amy Hilske, Nebraska Field Editor

Bio: Amy Hilske, a Minnesota native, has loved gardening and horticulture from a very early age. On a family vacation at the age of 12, she toured her first vineyard and winery and her obsession began. Amy's horticulture background (B.S. University of Wisconsin-River Falls and M.S. University of Nebraska-Lincoln) led her into viticulture. Amy and her husband, Richard, own Aspire Vineyards, which has 2 1/2 acres of grapes in Southeastern Nebraska. Varieties include: Marquette, Frontenac, Frontenac Gris, LaCrosse, and Brianna. Fall 2010 Amy and Richard will break ground on their winery and plan to open to the public in the Spring of 2011.
Website: www.winedustry.com

Connie & Gerald Byrne, Maryland Field Editors

Bio: Gerald and Connie Byrne are following their bliss in growing wine grapes together with his family on their Southern Maryland farm, Long Looked For, Come At Last. In addition to establishing his vineyard, Gerald is a founding member of the Southern Maryland Wine Growers Cooperative and the Cooperative's Port of Leonardtown Winery. Drawing from their professional experience, Gerald and Connie provide marketing strategy, traditional/social media and graphic design for the cooperative's winery. Connie also promotes the developing Maryland wine region through her own social media presence, “Ourgirl” on Twitter and the newly launched www.TheVineyardWife.com. The Vineyard Wife shares and celebrates the wine growing lifestyle through articles about the people, the vineyard, the wines, the sites, the events and the seasonal flavors of this developing wine region.
Website: www.TheVineyardWife.com

C. Andrew Snyder, Oklahoma Field Editor

Bio: C. Andrew Snyder, CSW is a Center of Excellence professor at Redlands Community College, where he helped establish their associate’s degree in viticulture and enology. Snyder also teaches in Redland's online consortium with the National Science Foundation’s Viticulture and Enology Science and Technology Alliance, offering courses in Winery Marketing, Tasting Room Management as well as viticulture courses. He has taught in higher education for the past 15 years. Professor Snyder earned three master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma in Human Relations, Adult Education and Communications. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business from Schiller International University in Heidelberg, Germany where he lived for 14 years. Snyder has twice won teaching innovation awards from the Oklahoma Association of Community Colleges. His viticulture and enology training include coursework from UC Davis and SIU in Strasbourg, France. Snyder owns a 4 acre, 8th leaf vineyard near Calumet as well as the Redlands Community College 46-variety, research vineyard. Snyder owns two wineries, one in Calumet and the second in Geary. He also bonded RCC’s college winery, named Chapel Creek Winery. Snyder is the winemaker for Tidal School Vineyards, Quartz Mountain Winery and Redstone Vineyards. Snyder serves as president of the Oklahoma Grape Growers and Winemakers Association, a member of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, American Society of Enology and Viticulture and the Society of Wine Educators, where he has earned the Certified Specialist of Wine accreditation. Snyder is proud to serve the Oklahoma grape and wine industry and sees a bright future for those who pursue an educated approach to vineyard and winery management.
Website: www.sandhillvineyards.samsbiz.co

Tamara Bredeson, Contributor

Bio: Co-Owner of Carlos Creek Winery in Alexandria, MN and Current Board of Directors for the Minnesota Grape Growers Association and Marketing/PR Chair. My expertise, experience and passion are for all things creative. Owning and marketing a winery has been a wonderfully creative and fulfilling experience. Something new and fresh every day! I enjoy the challenge of netting the BEST out of our winery – from wine to customer experience to revenue. My husband and business partner Kim as well as our two sons Tyler & Samuel join us in this venture making it truly a family winery. Our winery, vineyard and home are located on 160 acres in the Alexandria Lakes Area Viticultural Area.
Website: www.carloscreekwinery.com

Greg Ratliff, Contributor

Bio: Greg Ratliff has never met a grape he didn’t like. When Greg turned 21 his father, Tim, began to teach him all about wine, with a focus on high quality wines at an affordable price. Greg has adopted that motto for himself. For the last few years visitors to Fireside Winery, in Marengo, Iowa, can find Greg in the tasting room and during special events providing outstanding customer service and informative tastings. His passion for wine, pursuit of wine education and firsthand experience helping in the cellar and crush pad has given Greg Ratliff an excellent perspective to share with his tasting room customers.
Website: www.firesidewinery.com

Julie Wurr, Contributor

Bio: Julie Wurr opened Heart 'N Home, a home entertaining and decorating boutique in Laurens, Iowa, in 1996 and began selling wine in 2001. Her passion for understanding and selecting the best wines began at a young age and has continued in her business and marketing of local wines. With a zest for wine knowledge, Julie takes pride in educating her customers through her “Wine 101” program and as a contributing writer for Make Mine Wine Magazine.
Website: www.heartnhomeonline.com

Josh Shields, Missouri Correspondent

Bio: Josh Shields works as a Business Manager/Project Manager at AT&T Services, based in St. Louis, MO. He is Project Management Professional certified and also has a Bachelor degree focusing on Geography/Geographical Information Systems/Computer Science. Currently he is a student with the Viticulture Enology Science and Technology Alliance, where he visits various Missouri and Illinois wineries to fulfill practicum requirements. He has helped with harvests in Missouri, Illinois and in the tasting room of Missouri wineries. Josh carries his passion for wine into all areas of his life including traveling to various wine regions and learning about the wine culture in those areas. In his free time, he has written articles for Project Management, and enjoys live music, golf and working with local wineries. Find him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/shields121
Website: https://twitter.com/#!/shields12