Jeb Dunnuck

JebDunnuck.com

An aerospace engineer by training, Jeb Dunnuck grew up on a farm in rural Indiana where 2% milk was the beverage of choice and wine was hard to come by. It wasn’t until 1996, when living abroad and traveling through Europe, that he became interested in fine wine.

Moving to upstate New York in 1999 to work for Lockheed Martin, and later to Colorado in 2001 to work for Ball Aerospace, he traveled extensively throughout the wine regions of Europe and the United States, where he quickly developed a passion for the wines of the Rhône Valley and the Rhône Ranger Movement in California and Washington. To gain a better understanding of the business side of the wine industry, he took a temporary wine retail position in 2006.

Jeb launched the “The Rhône Report” publication and website in 2008 and began releasing a quarterly newsletter reviewing Rhône variety wines from around the world. Completely independent and including coverage on wines from France, Spain, Australia, and both California and Washington in the United States, the publication continued to gain in popularity and subscribers, and by 2013, was read in over 24 countries and seen as one of the leading authorities on Rhône variety wines.

In 2013, after being approached by Robert Parker to join The Wine Advocate team, Jeb gave up his engineering career and wrote full-time for the Wine Advocate. Described as a younger version of himself by Robert M. Parker Jr., Dunnuck was the leading reviewer for California, Washington and Southern France from 2013 to 2017, publishing more reviews than any other professional reviewer.

In 2017, Jeb decided to leave the Wine Advocate and go back to his roots as an independent wine critic, launching his own publication JebDunnuck.com. Through the platform, Dunnuck offers comprehensive, consumer-focused coverage of the most interesting wines from California, Washington, Southern France and Bordeaux, while seeking out discoveries from around the world.

Dunnuck’s goal with JebDunnuck.com is to provide insight and up-to-date information that can’t be found anywhere else. “Too often today, the ‘story’ behind a wine is put before the quality of a wine,” Dunnuck said. “I want to help consumers cut through the marketing and the spin and zero in on what’s in the glass. I plan to deliver the information consumers really need to know when trying to decide what to buy and what to drink.”

He resides in Colorado, with his wife Traci and dog Ella, where he pretends to rock climb and race a bicycle.

Julien Fayard

Winemaker, Krupp Brothers

Growing up on his family's small vineyard in the Provence region of France, Julien has not missed a harvest since he was 16. Weekend and holiday jobs on the family vineyard eventually turned into a career in the wine business. He trained in Bordeaux, working for the esteemed First Growth Château Lafite-Rothschild and Smith Haut Lafitte where he oversaw vineyard management and developed his winemaking skills.

After moving to Napa in 2006, Fayard began working alongside Philippe Melka as Director of Winemaking at Atelier Melka. There he honed his winemaking skills all the while learning more about the multiple climates and terroirs that make up the Napa Valley.

His winemaking style as a blend of new and old world, applying new world creativity and technology to the old-world focus on complexity and aromatics.

Trevor Smith

Winemaker, Trois Noix

Trevor Smith was born and raised in Eugene, Oregon but headed east to attend Texas A&M University. After serving four years in the military, he joined the wine industry, working in production and winemaking at wineries in Australia and the United States, most recently as the Cellar Master at Screaming Eagle and Assistant Winemaker at Antica Terra.

Allegory of the Cave by Plato - “It is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learning and to see the good but to be willing to descend again to those prisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether they are worth having or not. And this they must do, even with the prospect of death.”

Alberto Rodriguez

Winemaker, Hyde Estate

Winemaker Alberto Rodriguez joined the Hyde Estate team in May 2017 and currently oversees all wine production at Hyde Estate Winery. With an extensive background in winemaking, Alberto has been working with Hyde Vineyard fruit since the early 1990s and has managed the Hyde family’s small lot production since 2012, when the Hyde’s custom crushed at Patz & Hall, where Alberto was the assistant winemaker. Together with Larry and Chris Hyde, Alberto’s clear understanding of the unique terroir and palate for elegant, aromatic wines help craft Larry Hyde’s own interpretation of his acclaimed vineyard.

Cathy Corison

Winemaker and Founding Partner, Corison Winery

I’ve made wine in the Napa Valley for 40 years, first for others including Chappellet Vineyard, Staglin Family Vineyard, York Creek and Long Meadow Ranch. Eventually I found that there was a wine inside me that needed to get out, and I began to make the Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

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