Jody Harris – Founder & General Manager
Jody’s love of the land started early on, and he developed a passion for how things worked, how things grew, from farming to the stock market to the real estate market. He learned how to maintain the Jeep and the Ford tractor before he even learned how to operate them.
Jody went to Town School, then to Tabor Academy where he pursued his love of sailing, and graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1997 with a BA in Economics. In 2008, after successful careers in commercial contracting and development with Hadley Construction, Fisher Development and Richie Commercial Real Estate.
As general manager of Cultivar Jody balances his time keeping an eye on the long term goals, the finances and ensuring all the day to day systems functioning: making improvements on everything as needed. This passion for how things work also translates to being an early adopter of technology and new farming practices to be ever more sustainable and earth friendly.
Today, both Caspar Estate and Cultivar are thriving with a total production of over 10,000 cases in 16 states, the Cultivar SF restaurant and Cultivar Sausalito restaurant in the works.
When he isn’t at Cultivar San Francisco, or out in the vineyard or at Cultivar Sausalito job site, one may find Jody out on the San Francisco Bay. An avid boatmen, Jody is a volunteer for the Coast Guard Auxilary and often takes groups out to the Farallon Islands. Jody currently resides in the Marina district near Cultivar San Francisco with his wife Michelle and their three children.
Gingy Harris Gable – Founder & Sales and Marketing
Growing up, Gingy loved spending weekends in the Napa Valley, with her grandparents, Virginia and Caspar Escher, learning how to appreciate and tend to the land. To this day, both Gingy and her brother are passionate about their property and continue the tradition of teaching the next generations of the family to be stewards of the land.
Gingy overlooks all details, from package design for their products, winning a packaging award for their olive oil in 2004, to overseeing sales and marketing for Caspar Estate and Cultivar Wine.
Gingy brings her design eye, sales experience, and years of running her own business to Cultivar.
Prior to taking the helm at Cultivar along side her brother, Gingy worked at Barbara Scavullo Design. She then founded and ran her own interior design business, Virginia Harris Design for over 19 years. She worked on many projects along the West Coast from Santa Barbara to Belvedere, and is responsible for the interiors of the house at Caspar Estate. She and her work have been featured in a variety of publications (The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, Design Times, Northern California Home and Design, and Gentry). She received a degree in Art History from Colby College in Maine.
Participating in cooking classes in Florence, Paris and San Francisco influenced what she wanted to plant in the culinary garden. An avid cook, she enjoys pairing ingredients fresh from the land with Cultivar and Caspar Estate wines. Gingy currently resides in San Francisco with her husband John and their son.
Julien Fayard – Consulting Winemaker
Julien Fayard gained his knowledge and defined his core winemaking style from working at grand Chate aux in France such as Lafite Rothschild and Smith Haut Laffite. In Napa Valley, he’s worked alongside renowned winemaker Philippe Melka. He has come to be a Napa Valley veteran after many years of working with some of the most highly acclaimed and sought after wines from the Napa Valley. His philosophy is to produce wines that express pure, terroir-driven specificities and characteristics. He believes that as a winemaker, one doesn’t control the wine but rather wine style is the result of a combination of soil, climate and vineyard management. Wine style is an elegant combined expression of the fruit, soil, vines and climate.
“As a winemaker, my job is to bring out the best qualities that the vines have provided. I don’t seek to make a style of wine but more so to make wine that sings of it’s place, it’s history and it’s uniqueness. That’s my goal as a winemaker, to make wines that are pure expressions of their environment and not mask it. Wines with an identity. “
Julien is an entrepreneur with an acute business savvy of the wine industry. He is completing his MBA from top ranking Davis University in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. He brings a dynamic background of quality wine production, business management, winery development and infrastructure.
Chuck Sorensen – Sales Director
Charlie Roberts, jr. – General Manager
Charlie Roberts brings a rare combination of front-of-house expertise and analytical acumen to his role as General Manager. Raised in Ojai, California and a graduate of Stanford University, Charlie has spent decades working across the full spectrum of the restaurant industry — from beloved neighborhood spots to 2-Michelin Starred establishments.
His first foray into restaurants was as a server at the storied Hawthorne Lane in San Francisco. His leadership roles include nearly a decade managing the legendary Oliveto Café & Restaurant in Oakland, followed by a 12-year tenure at OpenTable, where he was involved with sales operations, training, and account management at a national scale. Most recently, Charlie served as General Manager of Paseo in Mill Valley.
Richard “Rick” Enos
With more than five decades of leadership in the restaurant industry, Rick is an accomplished operations and marketing executive with deep expertise in multi-unit management, concept development, training, and consulting.
His career spans senior corporate leadership and entrepreneurial ownership alike. As Senior Director of Operations – West at Victoria Station Inc., he helped develop and manage more than 90 locations nationwide. He went on to develop and manage twelve multi-concept restaurant operations across Hawaii, Northern California, and Australia, before conceiving and launching Compadres Rio Grille in Napa — a high-volume, full-service restaurant, bar, and catering operation. Most recently, he served as General Manager of The Trident in Sausalito.
Rick holds a BS in Finance from the University of Santa Clara and is a US Army Veteran. He is a Lifetime Member and Hall of Fame honoree of The Guardsmen, and serves as Chairman Emeritus of the San Francisco Giants Community Fund.
Matthew Curry – Executive Chef
Matthew Curry is an accomplished chef with extensive experience in some of the Bay Area’s most iconic waterfront restaurants, including Boca Tavern, Sam’s Anchor Cafe in Tiburon and Waterbar in San Francisco. Known for his skillful execution, calm leadership, and passion for fresh, seasonal ingredients, Matthew has built a reputation for delivering consistently memorable dining experiences.
Matthew leads the culinary team at Cultivar, where he collaborates closely with the Cultivar culinary gardener to plan and plant the estate’s herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables. His deep appreciation for garden-driven cuisine shapes a menu that reflects the seasons and highlights the richness of Napa Valley and Bay Area agriculture.
A dedicated hospitality professional and lifelong learner, Matthew also enjoys golf and brings the same focus, patience, and precision from the game into his kitchen leadership. His commitment to excellence, teamwork, and ingredient-forward cooking continues to elevate every environment he’s part of.
Justin Bruckert – Chef de Cuisine
Chef Justin Bruckert grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and trained at the Arizona Culinary Institute before building his career in top kitchens such as Station House and the Sonoma Mission Inn. Now living in Sonoma, Justin blends his love of local ingredients, golf, and family life as a devoted father of two. His culinary approach is shaped by strong technique, thoughtful leadership, and a deep appreciation for the region he calls home.
Cindy Sievertsen – Caspar Hospitality
After earning her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Iowa, Cindy channeled her energy into bringing people together — fundraising for student scholarships and co-founding the University of Iowa Alumni Club in Cedar Rapids. A deep love of wine and adventure ultimately called her west to Napa Valley.
Beginning her career in wine country in 2015, Cindy joined the Hagafen Cellars team where her head for finance and heart for hospitality are a perfect pairing. A seasoned world traveler and wine aficionado, she is equally at home discovering an obscure Burgundy producer abroad as she is sharing a favorite bottle of Caspar with guests — happily accompanied by her golden retrievers, Leia and Cali.
Tia Simon – Marketing & Wine Club Manager
Growing up in California’s Salinas Valley and Monterey Bay area, Tia developed a passion for fresh, farm-to-table cuisine that fueled my lifelong love of culinary exploration. While earning a double bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology at UC Davis, she discovered a passion for wine while working in restaurants and bartending.
With over 15 years of experience in Napa’s wine industry, she has held roles ranging from compliance to marketing management across various wineries. She enjoys connecting with people, guiding them through sensory wine experiences, and creating moments that resonate deeply.
Mark Edwards
Mark has spent his career turning a lifelong love of food, wine, and people into exceptional hospitality. Some of his earliest memories are cooking alongside his parents — family dinners that taught him hospitality is ultimately about connection, not just service.
That conviction deepened during his time with Joseph Ciatti Wine Brokerage, where he traveled California learning the stories behind the vineyards and the people who tend them. It was there he found his calling: bringing those stories to life through restaurants.
Over the past two decades, Mark has owned, opened, and led multiple concepts across Northern California — Pub Republic, Revel & Roost, Finnegan’s Marin — and most recently served as Director of Operations for China Live and Asia Live. Throughout, his focus has remained the same: building great teams, developing future leaders, and creating cultures where people genuinely love to work and dine.
Outside the restaurant, Mark extends that investment into the community. During the COVID-19 he partnered with World Central Kitchen to help feed those in need.
Joining Cultivar is a homecoming, with its commitment to estate wines, farm-driven cuisine, and authentic hospitality reflects the values that first drew him to this industry — and the table he’s always wanted to set.
David Hyun – Executive Chef
David brings a rare combination of culinary range and fine dining rigor to Cultivar San Francisco. A Culinary Institute of America graduate, he has spent over a decade working across New York to California— The NoMad and Del Posto helped shape his fundamentals to helming the kitchen as Chef de Cuisine at Charlie Bird and most recently, the Executive Sous Chef role at Che Fico in San Francisco, where he forged relationships with farmers at the Ferry Plaza, Marin, and South Berkeley markets.
David’s cooking is rooted in seasonality and craft — and a genuine curiosity for what’s growing and available. At Cultivar, that same curiosity extends to the glass. David sees the kitchen and the cellar as natural partners, and approaches each dish with wine at the center of the conversation.
Chuck’s journey in the wine industry began in the early 2000s when he started as a buyer at Whole Foods. Transitioning to a local distributor of wine and spirits, he initially handled “C” and “D” accounts, swiftly proving his readiness for a full territory in San Francisco within six months. Over the years, Chuck has thrived with several top distributors and brokers, expanding his territory to cover the entire Bay Area and he has earned several wine trips to France, Italy and Spain.
For the past five years, Chuck has been based in the North Bay, where he has called on restaurant and retail accounts amidst the picturesque wine country.
With over two decades of experience in the industry, Chuck’s enthusiasm for wine remains unwavering. He particularly indulges in his passion for White Burgundy and Champagne, always eager to explore new varietals and vintages.
Prior to his illustrious career in wine, Chuck spent fifteen years on the AMA professional motorcycle racing circuit, clinching the 250cc Grand Prix Road Racing Championship three times. On weekends, you can find Chuck exploring wine country with his wife Barbi and their dog Maya or hitting the road on his motorcycle with friends.