Antonio Galloni

Founder, Vinous

Antonio Galloni is the founder and CEO of Vinous, one of the world's most influential wine publications, for which he is also the lead critic covering the wines of Bordeaux, California, Italy and Champagne. Since founding Vinous in 2013, Galloni led Vinous' acquisitions of Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar and Delectable, which made the company unique in the wine industry in its ability to offer both professional reviews from the world's top critics and the perspectives from hundreds of thousands of wine consumers. Galloni also leads Vinous' pioneering efforts to map the vineyards of California with renowned cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti. Prior to Vinous, Antonio was the lead critic of Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, which he joined having established himself as an influential wine writer through Piedmont Report, the first in-depth, English language journal solely focused on Italian wine. Galloni has an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and is a Berklee trained musician. When not tasting wines or leading his business, Galloni can be found shredding a guitar or keeping fit.

Cory Empting

Winemaker, Harlan Estate

A native of Napa Valley, Cory got into the wine business at the early age of 15, working harvest with longtime family friend and esteemed winemaker Ric Forman. As a student at California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo, Cory spent his summers in Oakville serving as a harvest intern at Harlan Estate and BOND. Cory pursued opportunities to work in cellars in various winegrowing regions around the world, with a particular focus on Europe. In 2007, Cory was appointed Winemaker of Harlan Estate and BOND, while his mentor, Bob Levy, assumed the position of the estates’ Director of Winegrowing. With the emergence of Promontory, Cory extended his winemaking expertise to Bill Harlan’s most recent wine venture.

Maya Dalla Valle

Winemaker, Dalla Valle

Maya was destined to be a winemaker. In 1986, the year she was conceived, her parents, Naoko and Gustav, made their first vintage of estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. The following year—the year she was born—they planted Maya’s Vineyard, a 5-acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon that has become one of the most revered winegrowing sites in America. In 1992, this remarkable vineyard yielded a wine that would go on to earn Dalla Valle’s first perfect 100-point score from legendary critic Robert Parker. Growing up at Dalla Valle in the company of winemakers like Heidi Barrett, Tony Soter and Mia Klein infused Maya’s formative years with a sense of place and purpose that has come to define her adult life.

In 2017, Dalla Valle became a true multigenerational winery, when Maya joined the winery as director. Committed to earning her place in the family business before coming to Dalla Valle, Maya holds a master’s degree in viticulture and enology from Cornell University, and a master’s of business and science degree in vineyard and winery management from France’s prestigious Bordeaux Science Agro. Equally important, Maya gained invaluable hands-on winemaking experience at Ornellaia e Masseto, Bodegas Rolland, Pétrus and Château Latour. “Dalla Valle is my home. It is also my family’s legacy,” says Maya. “I am so excited to be working alongside my mom. Dalla Valle is her life’s work, and what she has created is remarkable. I also know that the greatest wineries are judged in terms of decades and generations, and that our story is still being written. I am honored to be carrying our family’s legacy into a second generation.”

Kathryn Carothers

Winemaker, Bryant Family Vineyard

Appointed BRYANT ESTATE's winemaker in 2018, Kathryn Carothers honed her winemaking acumen working in vineyards and wineries in Napa Valley, Corsica, France and Australia's Margaret River. Returning to Napa Valley to work at BRYANT estate, KK was promoted from intern to enologist to assistant winemaker working alongside oenologist Michel Rolland and viticulturalist David Abreu. KK then spent two years farming biodynamically and making wine at ADAMUS Estate before returning to BRYANT. KK earned her B.C. in the school of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University studying viticulture and oenology.

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