Naples Winter Wine Festival names 2027 sommeliers

The Naples Winter Wine Festival announced its featured sommeliers for the 27th annual event, scheduled Jan. 29-31 at The Ritz-Carlton Naples, Tiburón. The lineup includes 16 wine professionals, including Lindsey Fern of Nemacolin in Pennsylvania and George Miliotes of Wine Bar George in Orlando. Sommeliers will guide guests through wines served during the Vintage Cellar tasting and luncheon, Vintner Dinners and live auction. The festival, the annual fundraiser of Naples Children Foundation, has raised more than $366 million since its inaugural event in 2001 to support children in Collier County. The 2027 festival theme is Hope Sings: A Brighter Tomorrow Takes the Stage.

2027 Featured Sommeliers

• Gillian Ballance, MS — Treasury Wine Estates and Decant Bottle Shop, Yountville, California

• Fernando Beteta, MS — PopSomm, Chicago

• Mark Bright — Saison Hospitality Group, San Francisco

• Jacob Brown — Realm Cellars, San Francisco

• Marie Cheslik — Slik Wines, Chicago

• Jonathan Eichholz, MS — Aftergold, New York

• John Eisele — Four Seasons Napa Valley, Calistoga, California

• Lindsey Fern — Nemacolin, Uniontown, Pennsylvania

• Sarah Foote — Castle Hot Springs, Morristown, Arizona

• Logan Griffin — Blackberry Mountain, Walland, Tennessee

• Jon McCarthy — The Matheson, Healdsburg, California

• Michael Meagher, MS — Sommelier On-Demand Hospitality Services LLC, Groton, Massachusetts

• George Miliotes, MS — Wine Bar George, Orlando

• Robin O’Connor — Brazen Head Brooklyn, New York

• David Reuss, MS — Jackson Family Wines, Denver

• Rob Smits — Caruso’s at Rosewood Miramar Beach, Montecito, California