Fred Dame, MS
President, Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation

Frederick L. Dame, Master Sommelier brings an impressive blend of experience, expertise and enthusiasm to the world of wine and cuisine. He is the first American to have served as President of the Court of Master Sommeliers Worldwide and assists restaurateurs and hoteliers in developing their wine programs in his role as Director of Icon Cru, Constellations Wines.

Dame's ability to transmit his passionate interest in wine make him a natural teacher. One of just seventy-three Americans to have passed the Master Sommelier Examination, Dame was the first to successfully pass all three parts in a single year. This feat and his high score won him the coveted Krug Cup of the British Guild of Sommeliers in 1984. Dame founded the American Branch of The Court of Master Sommeliers in 1986 and has played an active role in the expansion of the Master Sommelier program throughout America since that time.

As Cellarmaster of The Sardine Factory in Monterey, California for twelve years, Dame created a wine list which won the Wine Spectator Grand Award. With the many wine events held in the brick and wine lined Wine Cellar, Dame turned The Sardine Factory into a wine destination restaurant of world renown. He was elected to the prestigious National Restaurant Association College of Diplomates in 2004. In 2006 he received Santé Magazine's Wine Professional of the Year as well as Starwine's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rob Bigelow, MS
Director of Wine & Master Sommelier, Bellagio Resort

Raised only an hour away from Napa Valley wine country, Rob Bigelow grew up with wine running through his veins. After studying hotel and restaurant management in college, Bigelow became a wine broker in northern California, a sommelier in Berkeley and a winemaker in San Francisco.

As Wine Director at Bellagio, Bigelow is in charge of the hotel's wine program, one of the largest and most successful in the world. In 2002, Bigelow became the 50th American to be awarded the coveted title of Master Sommelier and the 7th American to pass all three parts of this rigorous exam on the first attempt. He is on the Board of Directors of both the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Guild of Sommeliers.

Shayn Bjornholm, MS
Master Sommelier, Washington Wine Commission

Shayn currently serves as the Washington Wine Commission's (WWC) Wine Education Director, promoting the exceptionally high quality wines of his hometown state to the world. He comes to the WWC after 6 years of directing nationally renowned Canlis Restaurant's wine program to impressive heights. Under his tutelage, two sommeliers earned Wine and Spirits Magazine's Award for Best New Sommelier in the United States and Master Sommelier Candidacies in consecutive years - the first time such a feat has ever been accomplished. In 2005, he passed the Master Sommelier examination on the first try, becoming just the 9th winner of the prestigious Krug Cup in the history of the Court of Master Sommeliers.

In the same year, Santé Magazine recognized Shayn with a Regional Wine Professional of the Year Award. In 2004, Gentleman's Quarterly named him as one of the Top 6 Most Trustworthy Sommeliers in the United States. In the summer of 2007, he will be featured in the Fine Living Network's "I Want Your Job as a Sommelier" as the Sommelier of Canlis Restaurant.

John E. Blazon, MS
Master Sommelier & Manager, Wine Sales and Standards, Walt Disney World

John Blazon, MS oversees the development of standards for wine programs including product selection, service and training at all Walt Disney World locations including theme parks and resorts, as well as new locations and properties in the company.

Blazon graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management. After graduation, Blazon took a position in the kitchen to learn the back of the house at the Dunfey Atlanta Hotel as Executive Steward. He soon realized his passion for wine and table service, and in 1985 became Director of Food and Beverage at the Park Terrace Hotel in Washington, D.C. During his three years there he earned a "Best of Award of Excellence" from Wine Spectator magazine for the hotel's fine-dining restaurant, Chardonnay.

Blazon continues to develop educational courses for Disney's food and beverage team which includes the Disney Sommelier Certificate Program in partnership with the Court of Master Sommeliers. More than 600 cast members have passed the introductory certificate level since the training began in 1997, which is a greater number than any food and beverage organization in the world. In 2006, Blazon was recognized by The STARWINE International Wine Competition as their "Sommelier of the Year."

Geoff Kruth, MS
Festival Wine Consultant

Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth brings vitality, passion and extensive knowledge to his role as Wine Director of The Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in the Russian River Valley. He has helped lead the Farmhouse to critical acclaim; with a Michelin star, a 27 score in Zagat, and the recent naming by Gourmet magazine as one of the world's top 36 food destinations. Having worked at some of America's finest dining establishments, Kruth is on a short list of the top young American wine professionals. In 2008 he became one of less than 150 people worldwide to have ever earned the designation of Master Sommelier.

Prior to joining Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant, Kruth was Sommelier at Balthazar Restaurant and Assistant Wine Director for the Balthazar group in Manhattan where he helped oversee more than $10 million in yearly wine sales and was responsible for wine list development, floor service and staff training.

In addition to his French Culinary Institute diploma in Classic Culinary Arts, Kruth holds a certificate in Restaurant Management from the Cornell School of Hotel Management. 2008 will mark Kruth's fourth year as the Festival Wine Consultant for the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival.

Larry Stone, MS
General Manager, Rubicon Estate

Larry Stone is ranked among the most highly honored sommeliers in America and has long been associated with the Kapalua Wine & Food Festival since 1987. Stone is the first American to win the title of International Best Sommelier in French Wines and Spirits in Paris and remains the only American to have earned the title of Maître Sommelier from the Union de la Sommelerie Française. He is also an English certified Master Sommelier, one of a handful who has passed the examination on the first attempt.

Larry has been the only two-time recipient of the James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service, once for Charlie Trotter's and once for Rubicon restaurant, and was Santé magazine's Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year 2000. Under his guidance, Rubicon restaurant has earned the prestigious Wine Spectator Grand Award annually since 1998.

In 2004, Larry was elected to the Board of Directors of the Court of Master Sommeliers. In March of 2005, Larry became a Trustee of the James Beard Foundation and has been working to revitalize it with a new board and a broader range of activities.

Before joining Rubicon Estate as Gérant (General Manager) in January 2006, Larry Stone was a member of the Board of Directors of the Coppola Companies, and had worked with Niebaum-Coppola Estate as an advisor. Larry is proud of his long association with Rubicon Estate and with the Coppola family, and has embraced the challenges of running such an historic vineyard and winery.