Sunstone Winery Bion Rice, Winemaker and CEO Since 1990, Sunstone Winery has been producing premium, organic Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Mourvedre and Viognier, from their 28-acre vineyard. Their varietals have won countless industry-coveted awards for organics as well as winning numerous international wine competitions. The Rice family—Fred and Linda, and their children, Bion, Ashley and Brittany—started their Santa Ynez estate with the vision to farm in a completely…

Bird Rock Coffee Jeff and Maritza Taylor Jeff and Maritza Taylor of Bird Rock Coffee recognize a great cup of joe starts well before the cup. Now with six locations around San Diego, and distribution across southern California, they still pride themselves on working with small farmers in Central and South America. They were recognized as Roaster of the Year in 2012—a national once-in-a-lifetime award given by Roast Magazine—are consistent high-scorers…

Alex Seidel Chef & Farmer Alex Seidel will be the first to tell you he isn’t looking to open a 12-restaurant franchise. He just wants to cook, and he wants his ingredients to be fresh, local and delicious. His connection to food has earned him accolades and fans, alike. In 2010, he won the “Best New Chef” title from Food & Wine Magazine, and his creamery won two American Cheese…

6 Questions with Nina Compton How did your familial experience draw you to cooking? Cooking is one of those things that’s very personal. Everybody has to eat! When you get to share those moments with other people around you it becomes very special. That drew me to cooking. For my family, having lunch together on the veranda back home was a big thing. Just being together, talking about things going…

Holly Perkins Fitness Pro & Trainer Holly Perkins is at the top of her game. A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, women’s strength expert, and speaker, she’s the author of Lift to Get Lean, a woman’s guide to fitness and training. She’s also a contributing writer for numerous magazines including Women’s Health, Prevention, SELF, Shape and Fitness. She’s trained some of the world’s most famous names and has appeared in a slew of exercise videos, on HSN,…

6 Questions with Tory Miller How did you know from working in your grandparents’ diner this was what you wanted to do? Oh man, I just loved the action and pace of it. And the instant gratification of making something for people to be able to eat. You make something and right away you hear how it is. Especially as a kid, that positive feedback was so great to have.…

6 Questions with Claudette Zepeda You’ve worked in a variety of restaurants. Did Mexican food always feel most natural to cook? I started off at a not-so-great pizza joint, you know, like every teenager. But I was bitten with the bug of restaurants, but never saw it as a viable career. I’ve cooked Italian, French, pastries, charcuterie, but when I started cooking Mexican food, it felt like what I was…

6 Questions With Jonathan Zaragoza Inheriting a 200-year-old birria recipe seems like an origin story. Do you think this was fate? Yeah, that we inherited these goat-roasting abilities?! And with an Instagram handle like Goat Boy, it kind of begs for that. I think it was a time and place thing, like a lot of things in life are—like a Modern Adventure. The master goat roaster didn’t have any sons…

6 Questions with Andrew Zimmerman So, you wanted to be a musician. What did you play? I started playing the saxophone real early on, then I started learning the guitar. I was in a series of mostly punk rock bands, for lack of a better way to describe them, in the late ‘80s. None of them went very far—I got a free trip to Japan out of one of them—but…

6 Questions with Cheetie Kumar Why Raleigh? I loved the warmth of the people; there was a sense of community. I realized the State Farmers Market is a mile away, and it’s open every day. I saw there were so many Asian and Indian grocery stores. It felt like a place where I could build my life and figure myself out without having the pressure of living in a big…