Bruce Sonnen
Bruce Sonnen is an import to Oregon from rural Idaho farm country. He moved to Salem, Oregon with his soon to be wife in 1995, started a family, and currently has a sophomore in college and youngest who is graduating high school this June. In his first seven years in Oregon, he was employed by a large landscape company in the Portland area installing trees, shrubs, lawns, wetlands, etc. His most notable installs were Nike North campus in Beaverton, WSU Vancouver campus, and U of W practice facility. One of his final landscape installs was at Domaine Serene Winery in 2001. January 2002 his agriculture roots transitioned him to vineyard management. He was the fourth person to graduate from the Chemeketa Community College Viticulture degree program and is currently Vineyard Manager at VanDuzer Vineyards and Winery in Dallas, OR.
Herb Quady
Herb Quady is a second-generation winegrower who moved to Southern Oregon with his family in 2003. In 2006, he planted Mae’s Vineyard, 16 acres in the Applegate Valley, and founded Quady North Winery and Applegate Vineyard Management. Today, he farms about 80 acres of LIVE certified vineyards, and is a managing partner in Barrel 42, a LIVE certified custom crush facility. In 2020, Herb was awarded the “Founder’s Award” from the Oregon Winery Association, in acknowledgment of his leadership in the wine industry, particularly his efforts to forge connections between small Southern Oregon grape growers and winemakers looking for quality fruit throughout the state.
Sandra TaylorSandra Taylor is the president and CEO of Sustainable Business International, a consulting business that assists clients at various stages of environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice, many in the food and beverage sector.
Sandra has studied wine extensively for many years and is a graduate of the Wine MBA program at the Bordeaux School of Management in France. Her first book, The Business of Sustainable Wine, was published July 2017.
Sandra is a public speaker on wine, a columnist with Wine Review Online and founder of Fine Wine Divas of Washington, D.C., a wine learning experience for women. In 2018 she organized seminars for University of Pinot at IPNC on sustainability for Pinot noir producers.
Sandra has been a senior executive with Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, where she led global corporate responsibility and with Eastman Kodak Company where she oversaw global public affairs and corporate citizenship.
Cheney Vidrine
After beginning his career as a scientist in the wood products industry, Cheney took cues from his identical twin brother and jumped head-first into wine production. After chasing harvests in New Zealand, Australia, France and numerous Oregon vintages, Cheney found himself at the rapidly growing Union Wine Company. At Union Wine Company, Cheney was the Associate Winemaker, where he played a significant role in an organization that relishes in crafting wines that diverge from what our industry considers “normal.” In 2023 Cheney accepted a position as a sales representative for Della Toffola USA where he sells premium winemaking equipment.
