Our People
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John Pearce |
John Pearce has been a business owner for over 30 years. A passionate and driven serial entrepreneur, John believes that with hard work and a thirst for knowledge comes not only exceptional success but great personal fulfillment. He attended the University of Oklahoma and then set to work, most often working two jobs at a time. Over the years, he has become increasingly involved in the restaurant industry, wearing virtually every hat—from waiter, bartender, and general manager to chef, sommelier, and owner. His passion for wine took the stage as he created countless wine lists for restaurants and participated in hundreds of wine tastings, always eager to learn as much as he could. John also started and ran the Southwest Florida wine dinner series in Naples, Florida. |
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Michael Scorsone |
Growing up in an Italian family in Philadelphia, Michael’s first passion was food, and he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York straight out of high school. It was while at the CIA that he was introduced to and fell in love with wine. After getting a bachelor’s degree from UNLV, Michael moved to Napa to begin his journey in the wine world with a harvest job at Neyers Vineyards. He stayed on for several years as cellar master at Neyers, then worked harvests in Italy and New Zealand before settling as assistant winemaker at Failla Wines under Ehren Jordan, where together they produced a wine named Wine of the Year by Wine Enthusiast in 2008. After Failla, Michael consulted for Fred Schrader of Schrader Cellars on a vineyard development project on the Sonoma Coast and then landed as head winemaker at Adobe Road Winery. For seven years there (the final three with Palmer as his assistant winemaker), Michael produced a wide variety of highly rated and award winning wines from grapes grown all over Sonoma and Napa, including Cabernet Sauvignon from the Beckstoffer Vineyards. |
