John Morcilio

The Cornerstore Wine Connoisseur @ The Urban Wine Tribe

You may know him as “The Wine Guy”, or perhaps by one of his many well-known monikers, “The Cassius Clay of Cabernet” or “The Half Bottle Don” but you can also just call him JM.

What you may not know is that John Michael (JM) Morcilio, Founder of Urban Wine Tribe, has an extensive leadership background in the restaurant & wine industry spanning over 15 years. He's written several blogs, published a restaurant guide for servers called "Serving Food for Thought", and produced several publications for Social Magazine about the restaurant industry, wine, and pop culture.
As the chief of this wine tribe, JM has developed a strong social media presence as a wine & pop/urban culture influencer.

Laura Barrett

Winemaker, Clif Family Winery

Laura Barrett joined Clif Family Winery as Winemaker in November of 2014, bringing her passion for wine and her life-long love of science to the Clif Family Winery portfolio.
Laura received her undergraduate degree from The University of Vermont where she received a BS in Chemistry. Looking to put her degree to use for more than just lab work, she decided to pursue a career in winemaking. Her first step along this path was a job with Stony Ridge Vineyards, a small wine producer located on Waikeke Island in New Zealand.

After deciding that winemaking was the career she wanted to follow, Laura returned to the United States and pursued a Masters in Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis where she was quickly recognized as an up and coming winemaker. While studying at UC Davis she received the prestigious La Reve Foundation scholarship, awarded to female Viticulture and Enology students with outstanding academic standing.

After graduating from UC Davis, Laura became Assistant Winemaker at Fisher Vineyards where she worked for five years under the direction of celebrated consulting winemaker Mia Klein. In this role she learned to appreciate and understand the nuances of Napa Valley Cabernet.

Aspiring to move into a head winemaker position, Laura took a position with Casey Flat Ranch and spent the next seven years developing the wine program for this Capay Valley producer.
As Winemaker, Laura brings her keen scientific knowledge, attention to detail and creative inspiration to the Clif Family Winery portfolio. Laura developed the final blends for Clif Family Winery’s 2014 vintage wines and with the 2015 vintage assumes responsibility for the entire winemaking process.

Laura lives in St. Helena and in her free time enjoys hiking around the Napa Valley and spending time with her two young children.

Josh Mendoza-Widaman

Estate Winemaker, Pine Ridge Vineyards

After 20 years producing highly rated Napa Valley wines, Josh Mendoza-Widaman found his way back to the Stags’ Leap district as head estate winemaker for Pine Ridge Vineyards. Josh is known for his experienced, luxury-minded palate that has produced 90+ ratings on over 90% of all wines made in his career, including Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year in 2016 with Lewis Cellars. He now oversees Pine Ridge’s estate vineyards, most notably producing elegant and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon.

Josh’s pursuit of winemaking started after working the 1999 vintage at Stags’ Leap Winery. During his first harvest spreading stems in the vineyards by moonlight, he tasted a life-changing 1997 Pahlmeyer Merlot that left him inspired to create wine. The combination of hands-on vineyard work and the incredible fruits of a winemaker’s labor sealed his desire to enter the wine world.

“My path to winemaking started with a wine that left a lasting impression that I use as inspiration in every wine I create,” Josh emphasizes.

Josh now continues the Pine Ridge Vineyards commitment to create wines that honor their remarkable origins, while allowing his experience and perspective to push the quality of Pine Ridge wines into even higher levels of terroir expression. For Josh, “coming back to the Stags Leap District where it all began for me, and to the iconic steep-walled valley at Pine Ridge Vineyards, gives me a newfound sense of determination to produce some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines that Napa Valley and the world have to offer.”

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