Spirits Competition Judges

Debbie Zachareas is the Managing Partner and Wine Buyer at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in San Francisco's restored Ferry Building, and at the Oxbow Wine & Cheese Merchant in downtown Napa. Both locations offer and international wine selection with an emphasis on small-production and sustainably farmed wines. Zachareas hosts weekly wine tastings in her San Francisco wine bar. Great winemakers, importers, and winery owners educate and entertain her clientele by featuring their wines at the bar. Debbie teaches wine classes both at her own business as well the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, California. She is a well-known wine judge, lecturer, sommelier, and guest speaker for a number of wine events throughout the country.

Hoke Harden is an enthusiastic lover of wine and spirits, Hoke Harden has experienced every possible facet of the world of wine and spirits as a retailer, restaurateur, bartender, buyer, wholesaler, supplier, marketer, critic, writer, competition judge and educator. He is currently the principle of Taste & Compare Academy of Wine, Spirit and Food, holds a CSW and CSS from the Society of Wine Educators, is the Portland Spirits Examiner and National French Wine Examiner for Examiner.Com, Managing Editor for the Oregon Spirits Digest magazine, the Wine & Spirits Instructor at Mt. Hood Community College a Master Instructor with the French Wine Academy, and a B.N.I.C Certified Cognac Educator. His wine and spirits blog is at www.violentfermentation.blogspot.com.

Greg Lindgren is the co-owner of Rye, Rosewood, 15 Romolo, and Rye On the Road cocktail catering service in San Francisco. He and partner Jon Gasparini have been creating and operating bars for ten years. A member and supporter of the United States Bartenders Guild, Greg is active in putting together monthly cocktail competitions which bring together some of San Francisco's finest bar talents. He has instructed on bartending and the history of Rye whiskey, and is an avid forager for regional bitters of all kinds. In 2008, along with Allen Katz, Lindgren curated the spirits pavilion at Slow Food Nation, an event which highlighted quality, sustainability and the important role of the distiller and the bartender in our food systems. Lindgren was included in the panel of judges for the 2009 Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition.

Jeffrey Stivers

A true Los Angelino, Jeffery K. Stivers was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and has been involved in the Hospitality Industry for the past 30 years.

Starting out as a dishwasher, he moved up through the kitchen and cooked professionally for almost ten years during which time he became a Chef and even trained Chefs for one of the companies that he worked for. He also worked in the front of the house, working all the various positions of Bartending/Mixology and being a Server. He moved to managing the front of the house as a Dining Room Manager and Maitre’d, and then General Manager.

One of his biggest passions in life is Wine. He has worked as a Sommelier and overseen bar and wine programs, on top of his management duties for over twenty-five years. While working at Melisse, one of Los Angeles’ Michelin two-starred restaurants, he was written up in the Wine Spectator magazine. He has put together numerous Wine Spectator awarded lists for the restaurants that he has worked and consulted for including a Best of Award of Excellence for both Cicada and Bistro 45. While at Cicada, Jeffery created the largest list of it’s kind, which is the After-Dinner Drink list. It is literally an encyclopedia of drinks and spirits.

While at Celadon, Jeffery had the opportunity to fully design a Restaurant. Celadon became noted not only for the food but for the design and décor as well reach received high praise from critics.
He has also been involved as a Consultant, opening up Restaurants, setting up the Wine & Liquor programs and the design & development for several of his clients.

His expertise has been stretched from French, Italian, Asian Fusion and even Californian Cuisine. During which time his wine lists have been praised by customers, wine aficionados & critics alike. In 2008 he was the resident wine expert in a pilot TV show “In Search of Wine” and has been a Judge for the San Francisco International Wine Competition every year since 2000 as well as being a judge for the Los Angeles’ International Spirit’s Competition. He has also had articles in the FoodArts, Patterson’s Beverage News, The Wine Spectator and Bon Appétit.

At present he is the Sommelier, Wine and Sake Director and Service Director for Fine-dining Japanese Keiseki restaurant called n/naka which in the year that it has been open has risen to the top ranks of dining destinations in Los Angeles and the reservation system OpenTable has it listed as the top restaurant in all of Los Angeles and Orange County for food and service.

Chris Braun was born and raised in California and has spent the last fifteen years working in France. After playing professional volleyball for three years, he received an MS in Wine and Spirits from ESC in Dijon. Chris then started working in Bordeaux and later moved to the Languedoc region in southern France where he was Managing Director of Ciatti Europe in Montpellier. Chris now runs Advinture, a wine import consultancy, and is based in Southern California. He received the Chevalier de l’Ordre de Merite Agricole medal for his service to the French wine industry.

Tim Teichgraeber cut his teeth in retail wine sales before becoming the wine columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Today he is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle, Tasting Panel, Opus Vino and other publications. He also practices entertainment law in San Francisco.

Packaging & Design Judges

Dava Guthmiller is the founder and Creative Director of Noise 13 Design. Since 2000, Noise 13 has been creating brands lifestyle industries such as food & beverage and hospitality. Clients include The Good Food Awards, Tablehopper, SF Chefs, Michael Mondavi Family Wines, Delicato Family Wines, and the Personality Hotel Collection. Dava’s specialties lie in brand strategy, user experience and creative direction, and she can be found leading the conversation of brand importance. Dava is also the Board Chair of Slow Food San Francisco, and a guest writer for the design section of “Drink Me Magazine”. Dava has also been an instructor at the Academy of Art University, a judge for the Adobe Achievement Awards, and is a winner of the Make Mine a Million $Business award from American Express. Her business ideas and advice can be found in books like “Single. Women. Entrepreneurs.” and “Life on Your Terms”.

Mark E. Sackett has no plans to sit still anytime soon. He owns 13 related creative businesses, lives between San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, and thrives on being inventive daily as he works in Entertainment, Media, Branding, Advertising, Print, Packaging, Identity, Graphic Design, Interactive/On-Line and Website Design, Film Production, Music, Concert Production/ Events, and Television. He has been an award- winning Designer/Director/Producer for over 31 years with more than 1000 awards to his credit. Mark consults with CEOs, Venture Capitalists,
Brand Owners, and Entrepreneurs around the world to grow their brands, investments, companies, and profits.
Mark is an engaged, passionate entrepreneur and public speaker who thrives on the very notion that everyone can succeed, everyone can live in passion surrounded by creativity, and everyone deserves to find their voice and their music inside. He speaks to groups, conferences, corporations and individu- als exciting them toward “going after” what they dream—from starting that long ago shelved idea, to making change in their belief systems about the words that too often hold us back like “Don’t, Can’t, Shouldn’t, Risky, Crazy and Won’t”. He believes anything is possible: all relationships, all ideas, and all crazy notions about business and life. He believes in collaboration, not competition—and that true collaboration is the primary driver to great results and an impeccable life!
As a Director/Producer/Art Director, award-winning Graphic Designer and President of The Idea Stone and Reflectur, he is widely published and is a well-known public speaker. As the Founder of Brainfood Creative Programs, he is a thought leader who helps people live more creative lives by teaching them about what he calls “Left of Center Thinking” through his one-on-one and team “Brainfood” trainings and seminars worldwide. Brainfood Creative Programs also produces “The Art of Active Networking” worldwide as a way to help entrepreneurs, business people and individuals make stronger, deeper connections using social media and the power of genuine relationships. Mark also has his own radio show called BrainfoodUSA–Living a Creative Life!
As Creator and Founder of The Box SF he produces social networking events, speakers series, seminars, concerts, food and wine events –bringing artists and businesses together into a collaborative, engaging space in his San Francisco studios. His film studio, Articulation Films, produces films with 2–10 million dollar budgets and his recording label, Republic of Sound, helps singers and songwriters get their music to the masses through beautiful production and extraordinary branding and marketing.
Mark believes that best-of-class branding and marketing, paired with ethical business practices and out-of-the-box creative solutions, are the keys to sustained business. Mark serves as a board member or advisory board member to multiple non-profits, believes in giving back to the community, and has recently launched 24x24.org (a unique new way for people to donate to charity) that will eventually give billions of dollars a year to those in need, through this exceptional new model of giving.
He thrives on meeting and doing business with those who do things right: by caring about people, animals, and our planet! He understands well that money is not always the primary driver to success and that relationship and reputation are. Mark knows his stuff and can navigate complex problems and help clients arrive at workable and creative solutions. He loves wine, plays the drums, is an avid collector of books, antique paper, photography, and life experience!
He loves nothing more than sitting with folks, learning about them, and sharing his creative life and ideas by wandering around—dipping his toe into something new so he can constantly learn new things and absorb new images, tastes, sounds, and experiences.
Mark is the consummate networking and social connect. His mantra of “I’ve never met a stranger” carries him on every flight, in every restaurant, meeting, nightclub, subway or event. He’ll be your best wingman, and will more than likely introduce you to someone before you even ask. You can find him on all the networks to the right on this page, and he welcomes you to join him on all of them so you can meet his connections and help each other do better too! You can Google him as “Mark E. Sackett” or you can simply email him directly. But most of all, Mark hopes to connect. You can also add his many Facebook fan and group pages or follow any of his Twitters as: MarkESackett, Reflectur, TheBoxSF, BrainfoodUSA, and ActiveNetworkin.
Most of all, Mark hopes to connect with you and more importantly to energize you toward the notion that you too can live a more creative, passionate, exciting life!