Meet Our Judges
Tom Bender
Tom Bender is an adjunct instructor at Columbia College in the Sierra Foothills where he has taught several wine related classes in the college Culinary Arts Program for over 35 years. For the past 17 years he has managed O’Brien’s Market extensive wine department and popular wine bar in Modesto, CA. Since 1981 he has coordinated the Calaveras County Fair “Sierra Foothill Wine Competition”. He is a judge at the CA State Fair Wine Competition, Amador County Wine Competition, and the International Cabernet Franc Judging Competition. Tom has also been a successful winemaker for over forty years, having won a number of gold and double gold medals for wines made by his class and a fun group of local home winemakers. More recently he has assisted in the re-opening of the Columbia City Hotel Restaurant where he oversees their foothill friendly wine list. He has been fortunate enough to visit some of the globes most important wine regions.
Carrie Boyle, River City Wine
Carrie Boyle is the co-founder of River City Wine Week, a wine writer for Sacramento Magazine online and she has over 20 years in the wine industry. She has been a general manager for a national wine & spirits retailer, owned and operated her own fine wine shops, and is a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). She has judged wine competitions around Northern California, made her own wine, designed and taught classes, orchestrated large wine events and traveled to wine regions all over California, Oregon, Washington, Australia, New Zealand, France (Burgundy, Rhone Valley, Bordeaux, Champagne, and Beaujolais), and Spain (Rioja and Ribera del Duero). Today, in addition to managing River City Wine Week, she acts as a broker representative for hand-crafted wineries from various corners of the world.
Mike Dunne
Mike Dunne began writing of wine 50 years ago as a reporter with the Amador Dispatch in Jackson. He has been following the evolution of the California wine scene ever since, with a continuing focus on wines, wine issues and wine personalities of the Sierra foothills. Today, he freelance writes for various publications and platforms, but for 30 years had been a writer and editor with The Sacramento Bee. When he retired from The Bee in 2008 he was the paper’s food editor, wine columnist and restaurant critic. For more than a decade after retiring he continued to contribute a wine column to The Bee. He and his wife Martha, also a judge on the wine-competition circuit, live in Sacramento.
Martha Dunne
Martha is a Wine Enthusiast who has been practicing for 25 years as an evaluator – “judge” if you will – with her husband, Mike Dunne. In addition to her wine interests, she is an autism advocate and author of “’Wait, What Do You Mean?’ Asperger’s Tell and Show.” She also loves her art form as a professional interior designer.
Lisa Gomez – Restaurateur & Wine Enthusiast – The Vine,
Lisa owns two local wine & tapas bars: “Citizen Vine” in Historic Folsom since 2018 and “The Vine” in El Dorado Hills. She also recently became the owner of “Brickyard Kitchen & Bar” in Roseville.
She has worked for 20 yrs in the Event Hospitality industry, traveling the world and gaining a passion for wine & travel! Her wine journey began locally, with El Dorado & Amador County wineries, finding a true appreciation for the quality of wines that El Dorado County has to offer.
In 2022 she furthered her wine education by obtaining her Level II WSET Certification from the Napa Valley Wine Academy. She loves to teach customers about new wines and introduce them to varietals & regions they may have never experienced before. She is also strong advocate for the local wine community, showcasing local wineries on her menus and offering Meet the Wine Maker 4 course wine dinners.
Barry Lawerence
Barry has been involved in every aspect of wine all his life, home and commercial winemaker, vineyardist, winery owner, wine sales. including wholesaler, retailer and importer and Wine Educator at colleges and specialized wine schools. He was a Calif. and National Board Member of SWE, is currently a Tastevin (DTM) member of the Dionysian International Wine Society their highest honor and is a published author. He was one of the first to pass the judges exam for both Intervin and California State fair in 1985 and has been a judge for the State Fair, Orange county and other fairs across North America and Europe since 1988.He continues to operate a Syrah vineyard high atop Sonoma mountain and is a consultant to Fogline Winery in Fulton. His Grandparents were both born in the 1880’s, raised and educated in Clarksville, El Dorado Hills.
Laura Ness
Laura Ness is an avid wine journalist for whom storytelling is second nature. A visit to France shortly after college indelibly imprinted the concept of terroir, as she tasted wines in the very towns that bear their names. Sancerre, Chinon and Vouvray were not just wines, they were actual places you could taste.
Laura’s wine obsession eventually led her from high tech communications to the wine industry, where she is the wine columnist and regular contributor to Edible:Monterey, Los Gatos Magazine, the San Jose Mercury News, Edible:East Bay and The Livermore Independent. She judges wine competitions throughout California and has a corkscrew in every purse.
Valery Uhl – Director, “North of the Gate” Wine Competition; Viticulture Manager; Wine Educator
Dr. Uhl is the Chief Judge and Director of the “North of the Gate” Wine Competition for the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California as well as the California Zinfandel Championships in Pittsburg, California. She judges Wines and Spirits at numerous competitions throughout the world: the San Francisco International Wine Competition, the Mid-American Wine Competition, the Japan Wine Challenge, the West Coast Wine Competition, the California State Fair Wine Competition, the Monterey International Wine Competition, the Central Coast Wine Competition, the El Dorado County Fair Eine Competition, the Amador County Fair Wine Competition, as well as numerous others.
Valery has a degree in Viticulture Management. She graduated from U.C. Davis where she was a Taster for the U.C. Davis Enology and Food Science Departments. Her family owns Gold medal awarded Pinot Noir vineyards in the Russian River Valley AVA. She has written papers and given lectures across the nation on the health benefits of wine, including at the Midwest Grape & Wine Conference in Missouri. She also educates the public on wine and food pairings and has been a guest speaker for the Wine Enthusiast’s “Wine & Film” series.
She continues to collect and donate wine for many of her special causes such as the American Cancer Society as well as various Breast Cancer events. She and her Eagle Scout son Tristan received the American Cancer Society’s Volunteer of the Year Award for their many years of fundraising and thank all their winery friends for their many donations over the years toward this great cause.
Evan Williams
Evan Williams is a restaurateur with fifty years years of experience in the business, 45 in management and 35 as an owner. Currently he and his wife and partner, Candice, are owners of Evan’s American Gourmet Cafe located in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Evan has worked in virtually every possible position in the restaurant business, front of the house and back as well, from Busser to Waiter, Captain, Maitre d’ Hotel, Food and Beverage Director at a Five Star Resort, Chef de Cuisine, Sommelier and Proprietor and has been a wine buyer for 45 years and a Commercial Wine Competition Judge for 35 years. Evan’s American Gourmet Café is the top rated fine dining restaurant in South Lake Tahoe and the only DiRoNA Award recipient in the entire Tahoe/Truckee region.
Mark Winberg
Mark Winberg has been in the business since 1975 as Restaurant and bar owner. He is also a Wine broker and Epic representative. Currently GM and COO at The Idle Hour in South Lake Tahoe.
Rich Cook
Jane Valentin
Jane Halahan Valentin is a luxury winemaking professional who has served as a winemaker to Beringer Vineyards and Stags’ Leap Winery. She studied Winemaking at UC Davis while getting her Master’s at Sonoma State University. Her goal is to showcase the extensive possibilities of traditional varietals, and to make wine that is lush with rich complexity and opulent tannins.
Lori Alanz
Manager of Sheldon Wine Shop and Tasting Room for 7 years. I’ve been in Marketing and Adverting for over 10 years from print to social media. Not the expensive brick and mortar but the small business helping small businesses. Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce Board Member and Past President. Extensive work with various committees, boards, nonprofits. Owned At Your Service Limousine from 2000 ~ 2009. Wine Judge for the Foothill Wine Competition.
Michael Kelly
My focus is on showcasing small artisan and handcrafted wines of quality regardless of pricing. Quality wines are defined as having distinct layers and aromas that linger on the palate.
I am a member of American Wine Society. I typically taste 1,500+ wines a year. All the recommendations listed are wines which I have paid for and tasted. I am also a collector of fine Northern California wines, writer, grape broker, exporter servicing 3-Star Michelin restaurants and more.
Hank Beal
Hank Beal is a respected wine professional, but he does not own a winery. He is best known as the Executive Wine Buyer for the California-based supermarket chain, Nugget Market, a position he has held since at least 1988. He is also an author and a medal-winning wine taster.
Ellen Landis
Ellen is a published Wine Writer, Certified Sommelier, Certified Wine Specialist, Wine Educator and Professional Wine Judge. She is the author of EllenOnWine.com and writes for the AWS Wine Journal magazine (AmericanWineSociety.org), Great Northwest Wine, (www.greatnorthwestwine.com), Michigan Uncorked magazine (www.michiganuncorked.com, and The Slow Wine Guide (www.slowwineusa.com).
Ellen’s experience includes 10 years as a moderator for the highly acclaimed Vintners’ Holidays annual event at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, the American Wine Society annual conferences, and participates as a key speaker, moderator, and panelist at various other wine events. For eighteen years she and husband Ken built and co-owned the award-winning Landis Shores Oceanfront Inn (Half Moon Bay, CA) where Ellen served as Wine Director and Sommelier. Their property was named the California Bay Area’s Top Inn and ranked among the top 15 Inns for Wine Connoisseurs in North America. They sold their Inn to devote more time to the world of wine. Ellen was also a Sommelier for years at the Ritz Carlton.
In addition to an MBA, Ellen’s wine education includes UC Davis viticulture course work, achieving CSW certification from the Society of Wine Educators, and earning the credential of Certified Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. Ellen serves as a judge at numerous national and international wine competitions including the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, Mid-American Wine Competition, Great American International Wine Competition, LA Invitational Wine & Spirits Competition, California State Fair Wine Competition, El Dorado Wine Competition, Idaho Wine Competition, American Fine Wine Competition, North Coast Wine Challenge, Amador County Fair Wine Competition, Sonoma Harvest Fair Wine Competition, East Meets West Wine Competition, Harvest Challenge International Wine Competition, Cascadia Wine Competition, Savor Northwest Wine Competition, Jefferson Cup Invitational Wine Competition, Alameda County Fair Wine Competition, Great Northwest Wine Platinum Judging, The Frankfurt International Trophy (Germany), Selections Mondiales des Vins Canada, and the Central Coast Wine Competition.
Claire (Sudsy) Torbeck
I started a website to bring common sense information to non-industry folks who find electing a bottle of wine in the grocery or wine shop aisle very intimidating.
I hold the Diploma in Wine from WSET (DipWSET) and am a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a French Wine Scholar (FWS) and a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). I create wine and food pairings for group events, general wine education for the public, and seminars for the industry. I’m passionate about cooking, trying new dishes and finding amazing wines for my client’s cellars. I am a professional wine judge, serving at various competitions in and around California.
I love working with several fraternal wine organizations (with a worldwide reach), purchasing wines for their cellars and planning the food and wine pairings for all of their events, and writing articles for their on-line and print publications.
Valery Uhl
Director, “North of the Gate” Wine Competition; Viticulture Manager; Wine Educator
Dr. Uhl is the Chief Judge and Director of the “North of the Gate” Wine Competition for the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California as well as the California Zinfandel Championships in Pittsburg, California. She judges Wines and Spirits at numerous competitions throughout the world: the San Francisco International Wine Competition, the Mid-American Wine Competition, the Japan Wine Challenge, the West Coast Wine Competition, the California State Fair Wine Competition, the Monterey International Wine Competition, the Central Coast Wine Competition, the El Dorado County Fair Eine Competition, the Amador County Fair Wine Competition, as well as numerous others.
Evan Williams
Evan Williams is a restaurateur with fifty years years of experience in the business, 45 in management and 35 as an owner. Currently he and his wife and partner, Candice, are owners of Evan’s American Gourmet Cafe located in South Lake Tahoe, CA. Evan has worked in virtually every possible position in the restaurant business, front of the house and back as well, from Busser to Waiter, Captain, Maitre d’ Hotel, Food and Beverage Director at a Five Star Resort, Chef de Cuisine, Sommelier and Proprietor and has been a wine buyer for 45 years and a Commercial Wine Competition Judge for 35 years. Evan’s American Gourmet Café is the top rated fine dining restaurant in South Lake Tahoe and the only DiRoNA Award recipient in the entire Tahoe/Truckee region.
Mark Winberg
Mark Winberg has been in the business since 1975 as Restaurant and bar owner. He is also a Wine broker and Epic representative. Currently GM and COO at The Idle Hour in South Lake Tahoe.