Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/687399
124 / the tasting panel / june 2016 124 / the tasting panel / june 2016 THE WINE JUDGES. Back row (left to right): Alex Petry, GM/Wine Director, The Finch, Brooklyn; Anthony Mueller, Wine Educator, Inglenook, Rutherford; Peter Steiner, Wine Director, Sens Restaurant, San Francisco; Sam Schmitt, Wine & Spirits Program Manager, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Peoria; Evan Hufford, Head Sommelier, Single Thread Farms, Healdsburg, CA; Andrea Scuto, Sommelier, Trattoria Amici at The Americana at Brand, Glendale; Charles Riley, Area Director of Food & Beverage, Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, Irving; James Lechner, GM/Wine Director, Bastille Café & Bar/Stoneburner, Seattle; Jeff Anderson, Wine Director, Erna's Elderberry House Restaurant, San Francisco; Harley Carbery, Director of Wine, Manadalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas; Mark Guillaudeu, Restaurant Manager, Roka Akor, San Francisco. Front row (left to right): Heather Hedlund, Sommelier, Wild Ginger, Seattle; Renée-Nicole Kubin, Wine Director, Château du Sureau, Oakhurst; Tim McDonald, Founder, Wine Spoken Here, Napa; Natalie Dulaney, Corporate Wine Director, David Burke Restaurant Group, New York; Michael Ploetz, Director of Food & Beverage, The Peninsula Beverly Hills; Chris Horn, Wine Director, Heavy Restaurant Group, Seattle; Sarah Blau, Beverage Manager, Aquavit, New York City; Robert Dubben, Sommelier, West Shore Café, Homewood. WINE & SPIRITS WHOLESALERS OF AMERICA 73RD ANNUAL CONVENTION & EXPOSITION QUENCHES DISTRIBUTORS' THIRST FOR OUTSTANDING PRODUCTS AN OASIS IN THE DESERT by Emily Coleman / photos by Mona Shield Payne