Certified sommelier Liz Martinez is a hospitality and wine professional with over two decades experience designing award winning wine lists, training staff, and managing service for some of America’s best restaurants. Liz has won awards for wine and service from every major national wine magazine and a range of local publications. In 2019, she was awarded Food & Wine magazine sommelier of the year.

Her illustrious résumé includes positions at Carmine’s on Penn in her hometown of Denver, CO, Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco, Topolobampo and Purple Pig in Chicago. In 2017, Liz relocated to Detroit to serve as Wine Director at luxury steakhouse Prime+Proper and today she serves as Director of Beverage and Hospitality at Birmingham Michigan’s Madam restaurant, where her wine program was nominated as a semi-finalist for the prestigious James Beard Foundation awards.

During her career, Liz has consistently elevated service and wine standards in a wide range of restaurants throughout the United States. Her commitment to thoughtful, humble, organized, polished, and anticipatory service continues to delight guests and draw widespread acclaim.

Follow her on Instagram at @winenomadic.

Born overseas, Caleb Taft spent his formative years in San Diego. Dinners with the family taught him the value of food, the meaning of community and the power of cooking. After college, he began cooking professionally, but a move to San Francisco brought him into the world of wine. He worked as a retail wine buyer for a few years, before becoming the National Sales Manager for Vinum Cellars, where he sold wine in 30 states as well as a few international markets. After Vinum Cellars, Caleb joined Nopa restaurant as a manager in their first year of operations. It was a masterclass in service, food and wine, and the restaurant would anchor and eventually help revitalize the neighborhood. He left to become the Wine Director and manager of Camino, in Oakland. Led by Chez Panisse alum Russell Moore, Camino specialized in hearth-cooked foods, with a concise, all-organic wine list. Caleb then returned to retail at Arlequin Wine Merchants in SF, which has a legendary cellar stocked with deep verticals of the best producers from Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire Valley and California. He later joined Nari Restaurant in San Francisco as the opening general manager. Owned by chef Pim Techamuanvivit, Caleb built a diverse team focused on service, crafting experiences at a very personal restaurant that challenged guest palates and fine dining conventions, which earned a Michelin star. He currently works as a freelance writer while he starts a winery in his new, adopted home in Washington State.

You can follow his wine adventures on Instagram @organolepticon

Educated at Cornell University in Marketing, Cristina has always worked in the world of hospitality. Daughter of hoteliers on Lake Garda, she worked at the Bayerischer Hof in Munich, the Grand Hotel in Rimini and numerous other European luxury hotels.

5 years ago she created Club Appeal, a consulting company specializing in luxury hospitality with a focus on the world of golf and wine, which she promoted with her own exclusive brand WineHO.

Sommellier, WSET certified, Cristina is a professor and lecturer at CUOA Business School in the Master of Wine Business and speaker at numerous international conferences (e.g. IWINETC, Tebec, Atlas) related to the world of wine tourism.

Jill Davis is the Brand Ambassador for DuMOL Winery where she brings the DuMOL story to life for guests at the winery and on the road. Jill’s unmatched enthusiasm for and knowledge of wine allow her to engage with novices and experts alike. Prior to joining DuMOL, Jill spent several years leading beverage programs for restaurants and hotels, predominantly with the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, as well as several harvests working in the cellar at Failla Wines. As a lifelong learner, she continues to deepen her understanding of the winemaking process. When she isn’t at the winery or on the road for events, you can find her mountain biking and rock climbing with her dog Paddy in the hills of Sonoma County.