Talent
CHEF ANDREW WILSON
Chef de Cuisine, Andrew Wilson, brings his signature style, highlighting seasonal ingredients with European techniques. Andrew came to Carneros with 20 years of restaurant-industry experience, cooking in internationally-acclaimed kitchens from South Carolina to San Francisco and has earned accolades in Esquire, The Wine Spectator, The New York Times, Food & Wine and Gourmet.
Spending summers as a child at his grandmother’s house in Greenwich, CT, Andrew’s passion for fresh vegetables and simply prepared food sprouted at an early age. No stranger to the Bay Area, Andrew graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and worked in a handful of San Francisco kitchens early in his career. Cooking with a clay tandoor oven alongside internationally-recognized chef Alan McLennan at Cypress Club eventually led to a role as Chef de Cuisine at Cafe Kati–one of the first and original Asian Fusion restaurants in San Francisco. Departing California first to Chicago for the legendary Tru restaurant, Andrew then spent 10 years in South Carolina as Executive Sous Chef at McCrady’s, and Sous/Pastry Chef at FIG.
Andrew's menu celebrates Sonoma’s agricultural bounty using fresh ingredients from local farmers, foragers, fisherman, and artisans and an organic kitchen garden on property that supplies the restaurant. Simple, straight-forward bistro cooking allows the purity of ingredients to come through while fostering a strong sense of place. Hints of Andrew’s experience in Asian, European and Southern kitchens add subtlety to the bold, hearty food.
SOMMELIER CHRISTOPHER SAWYER
Christopher Sawyer travels the world following trends in wine and participating as a judge in international wine competitions, and has been featured in a wide array of national media, including USAToday, MSN, NBC, ABC, CNN, Redbook, Maxim, National Geographic Traveler and Esquire.
Sawyer was recently named the 2009 Best Sommelier in Sonoma County by The Wine Tasting Panel Magazine, and is the recipient of many prestigious awards and industry honors. In 2008, Sawyer was selected as “Sommelier Star” Host for the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, the largest Wine Country event in Northern California. As the world's first and only Film Festival Sommelier, Sawyer conceived and curated the wine experience throughout the Sonoma Valley Film Festival, including creatively pairing wine and food with films throughout the festival and at celebrity tributes.
