As Culinary Gardener for The French Laundry, Aaron Keefer grows and harvests specialty vegetables for Chef Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, Bouchon, Ad Hoc, and Bouchon Bakery in Yountville, CA. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, he moved to California and honed his kitchen skills under Bay Area Chefs Michael Chiarello from Tra Vigne in St. Helena and Julian Serrano at Masa’s in San Francisco. He subsequently became the Executive Chef at Marin Country Club and was later promoted asits Food and Beverage Director. His desire to continue learning from the best restaurant in the industry led him to do a kitchen trail at The French Laundry. As Culinary Gardener, Aaron continues to strive on a daily basis to make improvements upon the quality of the produce, the soil, and the grounds, in order to supply the chefs with only the very best.

Cecilia Cunningham studied at the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza, Argentina, while pursuing dual degrees in Engineering and Agriculture. After several experiences, abroad, INRA Pech Rouge in France, harvests in New Zealand and USA, she came back to Argentina, where she started working for Vivelys in 2011.

Eric Herve received his PhD from the University of Bordeaux in France, and has worked as a research scientist at ETS Laboratories since 1997. Eric has helped develop numerous analytical tools that allow growers and winemakers to assess grape and wine flavors, and to identify, trace, and prevent wine flaws or taints. These developments have included testing corks for “Releasable TCA” – a major breakthrough in the battle against cork taint – and the first report of eucalyptol in wines. At ETS, Eric supervises the development of new analysis methods, and assists growers and winemakers in their constant quest to harness the full potential of their grapes.

Dr. Federico Casassa received an MS in Enology from the School of Agronomic Sciences in Mendoza (Argentina), and a Ph.D. in Food Science (with emphasis on wine chemistry and sensory analysis) from Washington State University. He is currently an assistant professor of enology with the Wine and Viticulture Department of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he teaches wine sensory analysis and advanced winemaking classes, in addition to serving as advisor of enology and viticulture-related Senior Projects. His past published research included studies on the effect of Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) and intrinsic variations of berry size in grapes and wines, as well as on the various aspects of phenolic extraction and sensory outcomes of different maceration techniques in red wines.

Gregory V. Jones is the Director of Wine Education and a professor and research climatologist in the Department of Environmental Studies at Linfield College. Professor Jones specializes in the study of climate structure and suitability for viticulture, and how climate variability and change influence grapevine growth, wine production and quality. He conducts applied research for the grape and wine industry in Oregon and many regions worldwide and has given hundreds of international, national, and regional presentations on climate and wine-related research. He is the author of numerous book chapters and other reports and articles on wine economics, grapevine phenology, site assessment methods for viticulture, climatological assessments of viticultural potential, and climate variability and change impacts on wine production.

Lee Johnson is a Senior Research Scientist with the College of Science at Cal State Monterey Bay. He has broad experience in development of remote sensing for agricultural applications, and is co-developer of NASA’s Satellite Irrigation Management Support. He is stationed in the Earth Science Division of NASA’s Ames Research Center.

Mark Anderson serves as the Director of the Vintage Report. With the Vintage Report, Mark manages a network of thought leadership events that advance the use of technology and scientific understanding throughout the wine industry. Previously Mark worked for an international affairs consulting firm, securing market access for agricultural exports around the world. Mark has a degree from Wheaton College (MA) in international relations with a concentration in international political economy.

Pierre Helwi earned a Ph.D. in Viticulture and Enology from the University of Bordeaux, France. His work was focused on the effect of vine nitrogen status on varietal aromas in grape berries and wines. In 2016, He joined the Department of Horticultural Sciences at Texas A&M as an Assistant Professor and Extension Viticulture Specialist. Currently, he is directing his research towards solving grape quality issues associated with hot climate regions.

After getting her PhD in microbial ecology from UC Berkeley, Sarah worked as a research scientist at Michigan State and then INRA in Montpellier, France. She then worked as an industry scientist in small biotech and agtech companies. After much deliberation, Sarah started Root Applied Sciences with a few other scientists to build an agtech company rooted in agricultural science. Root Applied Sciences strives to provide clients with useful, accurate information and science-based insights to inform better management decisions.

Dr. Sudeshna Pabi is a Senior Scientist at Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) with focus on clean energy solutions for problems related to energy and environment. She holds a Ph.D. degree from Stanford University. As NASA graduate research fellow, she developed the first quantification of carbon budget of the Arctic Ocean using numerical model and remote sensing.

Co-Founder of the Vintage Report, Thibaut brings his scientific expertise in viticulture and enology to the organization. He conceived the concept of the Vintage Report series to foster technical discussions around vintage effect while being respectful of local wine growing conditions. Throughout his scientific career, he has been exposed to numerous scientific and technical experts who imparted on him a desire to always learn more on the relationship between environmental stresses, vine and fruit physiological responses and its impact on wine quality. Having lived for 20 years in California Thibaut became inspired by the culture of open mindedness, clear communication and the power of social media to disseminate knowledge. Thibaut’s hope is that the Vintage report Series will continue to grow and contribute to disseminating reliable information within the wine industry. Ultimately, his objective is to benefit environmental resource management and help preserve the uniqueness of place and season as reflected by wine taste.