Cynthia Bournellis has been a writer and editor for more than 20 years, covering subjects from celebrity profiles to arts, culture, entertainment, interior design, business, food and more recently wine. A native of the San Fransisco Bay Area, Cynthia remembers and appreciates the agricultural history of the Santa Clara County – one that often is forgotten by many and unknown to newcomers. Of course vineyards are an important part of the Valley's past and an integral part of today's wine business. Growing up mainly in the South Bay and spending much time in and around the Santa Cruz Mountains, Cynthia has come to love the many wineries and related characters sprinkled throughout the region's wine appellation, not to mention the wines. When she's not on the home front, Cynthia enjoys visiting wineries throughout California and has gone as far as Truckee to sample Pinot Noir from a tiny winery whose vino rivals that of any of the "big boys." When she is not working at Byington Winery in the tasting room or harvesting grapes, Cynthia enjoys hiking and has spent much time trekking in the Sierras, Santa Cruz Mountains, Alaska, Colorado and Utah. Cynthia adores animals and volunteers for a number of related organizations. She currently lives with her cat Roxy. Cynthia can be reached at, Cynthia@inflightusa.com.

Denise Rae Kouzoujian has been a professional chef for more than 10 years. She owns and operates Food For The Soul which offers in-home cooking cvlasses, intimate dinner parties, private chef services, anf team-building events. Denise can be reached by visiting www.foodforthesouldrae.com or emailing dkouzoujian@sbcglobal.net.

Fred McMillin has been honored by the Academy of Wine Communications as one of America’s 22 best wine writers. He teaches a new wine courtse every month in San Francisco at S.F. City College (Ft. Mason campus). For the tasty details, fax Fred at (415) 567-4468.

Laura Ness is a long-time Santa Cruz Mountains resident who enjoys writing about wines with character and the sometimes insane characters who make them. She has been writing regularly for Vine Times magazine since 2000, and her beats have included the Anderson Valley, Mendocino, Santa Cruz Mountains, Livermore and Paso Robles. However, she can be easily talked into waxing poetical over good wine from any region. Laura has contributed to Wine Business Monthly, Vineyard & Winery Management, Monterey Travel, California Wine This Week, Mountain Network News and the Livermore Independent. When not swirling or sniffing, she enjoys traveling the back roads of California discovering vineyards old and new and capturing their unique stories to share with all. You can reach her at highperf@got.net

Lisa Pretty was born in Corner Brook, Newfoundland but didn’t stay there long. She grew up on Ontario, Canada, became a high tech executive and wound-up in California’s Silicon Valley doing international business development. It was not long after moving that the wonderful California wines began to fill her weekends and before her family and friends could believe it, she trading in her business suit and frequent flier programs for blue jeans, work boots (including a nice pair of rubber ones) and a tractor. Today Lisa is owner/winemaker of Pretty-Smith Vineyards & Winery where she is truly a one woman show doing everything from the vineyards, to winemaking to sales and marketing. She even creates the oil painting for the labels. In her spare time she writes for VineTimes magazine about her favorite topic…Paso Robles Wine Country. Lisa can be reached by email at lisa@prettysmith.com.

Randy Robinson is the owner of Vino Locale, a European-style wine bar that specializes in local wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains, Santa Clara County and San Benito County. Vino Locale is located at 431 Kipling Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301, 650-328-0450, www.vinolocale.com.