The People

John Anthony Truchard

John Anthony Truchard, Founder and CEO of John Anthony Wine & Spirits leads one of the fastest-growing businesses in the wine industry today. John’s interest in wine began in his family’s vineyards learning viticulture from his father Tony Truchard and other iconic Napa Valley pioneers. John studied biology at University of San Diego, transferring to UC Davis to focus on wine. John started a vineyard management business in the mid-1990s—growing grapes for others to eventually realize the funds to plant his own vineyards and make wines under the John Anthony Vineyards label.

John produced his first estate wines in 2003 with a Syrah and a Cabernet Sauvignon that received notable acclaim and placed John Anthony Vineyards on the map as one of the finest producers in the Napa Valley. The John Anthony collection now includes John Anthony Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in distribution and a portfolio of single-vineyard releases exclusively available through the John Anthony Vineyards Tasting Lounge in downtown Napa.
In 2008 John resolved to make great wines accessible to more people with the brand JaM Cellars (short for John and his wife Michele). The result was a rich, bold Californian Cabernet Sauvignon under $20 called JaM Cabernet. Its success prompted the creation of a creamy Chardonnay called Butter Chardonnay, with Toast Sparkling following quickly thereafter. Butter Chardonnay’s popularity has grown exponentially over the last 10 years and JaM Cellars is nearing 1MM cases in the U.S. with Butter Chardonnay the #2 selling chardonnay over $12 (source Nielsen 2022, 52 weeks) and recognized by Shanken News Impact as a Blue Chip brand since 2021. Butter Chardonnay is also available in 250ml ButterCans, the #1 selling Chardonnay in a can. In 2022 Butter Cab and Butter Bubbles joined the line up to provide more easy-to-love accessible wines in the $15-$20 price point.

John continues to conceive and launch new wine brands that offer distinct value propositions and exceptional quality across price points. Serial Wines showcases the fast-growing and exceptionally-diverse terroirs of Paso Robles, with a Red Blend and Cabernet Sauvignon in distribution. The winery in downtown Paso Robles received the accolade of 10Best New Winery of 2022 by USA Today and continues to release small batch, varietal-specific wines from Paso’s sub-AVAs. Weather Wines is a collection that focuses on expressive Burgundian varietals Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in their most perfect micro-climates currently sourcing from Sonoma Coast, Russian River and Los Carneros, Napa Valley.

Despite his more than two decades in the wine business, John is just getting started in bringing his entrepreneurial leadership and vision to the industry.

Michele Truchard

Michele Truchard is fourth-generation Napan, her family grows grapes on their estate in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. Michele earned her Bachelors degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from San Diego State University starting her career as a nutritionist at UCSF Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital, San Francisco before wine country called her back to Napa.

Michele returned to the Valley after reconnecting with her future husband John Anthony Truchard, also from Napa and a student at SDSU. Combining her training as a nutritionist with her knowledge and appreciation of wine, Michele developed several successful food-and-wine pairing programs for the Terlato Wine Group’s Rutherford Hill and Chimney Rock wineries. In 2003, she helped John launch John Anthony Vineyards and bottle its first vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

Michele eventually left Terlato to dedicate herself full-time to John Anthony Vineyards and raising their family of three children. John Anthony Wine & Spirits has since added three more labels: JaM Cellars in 2009 (JaM is short for John and Michele), Serial Wines in 2019 and Weather Wines in 2020. Today, Michele is a spokesperson for the company and instrumental in producing exclusive brand experiences across the portfolio—food and wine pairings, farm-to-table dinners, and live music events—as well as supporting local and national causes as Proprietor of John Anthony Wine & Spirits.

Jeff Kandarian

Jeff’s path to the cellar was set early. Raised in California’s agriculturally rooted San Joaquin Valley, he gravitated naturally toward farming and fermentation, ultimately pursuing Enology and Chemistry at California State University, Fresno, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree and a foundation grounded equally in science and intuition.

He sharpened his skills in Paso Robles, working across a range of winery scales and philosophies at producers such as Justin, Meridian, Eberle, and Shandon Valley Partners. The region’s warm days and diverse sites gave Jeff a broad technical education, but it was the lure of cooler climates that soon redirected his course north.

Oregon proved pivotal. As winemaker at Del Rio Vineyards and Winery, Jeff embraced the challenges of coastal-influenced growing conditions, refining a style defined by balance, precision, and varietal clarity. That trajectory continued in 2008 when he joined King Estate, rising to Director of Winemaking and Viticulture by 2010. Under his leadership, the wines gained national attention, with multiple bottlings earning placement on Wine Spectator’s prestigious Top 100 list—an achievement that helped elevate Oregon’s standing for both Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir on the world stage.

In 2014, Jeff relocated to Napa Valley after connecting with John Anthony Truchard, assuming winemaking responsibilities for John Anthony Wine & Spirits. As Executive Winemaker, Jeff brings a rare combination of technical precision, creative range, and brand fluency that allows him to shape wines with distinct identities while maintaining uncompromising quality. From the site-driven elegance of John Anthony Vineyards, Napa Valley; the Burgundian focus of Weather Wines, Sonoma Coast; and expressive Serial Wines—bringing Jeff full circle back to Paso Robles—to the everyday polish of popular California wines JaM Cellars and Butter, Jeff understands how to translate intent into the glass. Whether working at the highest tier of Napa Valley expression or pioneering new formats that meet modern consumers where they are, Jeff crafts each brand with clarity of purpose, technical mastery, and an instinctive understanding of what the wine is meant to be.

Across regions and styles, Jeff’s hallmark remains consistency and finesse. His work has garnered more than 200 90Pt+ scores from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, James Suckling, Jeb Dunnuck, and Wine Advocate, affirming his reputation as a disciplined, versatile winemaker with a deep respect for site and a proven record at the highest level.

Jeff Kandarian can be contacted at Jeff@JohnAnthonyWS.com.

James Bradney

James Bradney is a seasoned veteran in the wholesale distribution industry, with over 30 years of experience. His career began at Gallo, where he honed his skills in brand representation before moving on to significant roles at PepsiCo and Schieffelin & Somerset/Moët Hennessy. In 2003, Bradney joined Southern Glazer’s Wines and Spirits, where he served as Senior Vice President, General Manager of Southern California. During his tenure, he led retail market development for over 400 supplier partners and played a crucial role in growing the JaM Cellars brand from 10,000 to 150,000 cases in the region.

In his new role as Chief Revenue and Growth Officer at John Anthony Wine & Spirits, James will focus on strengthening distributor relations across the company’s wine brands. He will also spearhead the introduction of new brands and products across multiple beverage alcohol sectors, driving both national and international growth in various retail channels.

James Bradney can be contacted at James@JohnAnthonyWS.com.

Sarah Montague

Sarah Montague, Chief Marketing Officer of John Anthony Wine & Spirits, built a successful career at top advertising agencies in London, Chicago, and San Francisco before finding her passion in the world of wine. With experience developing powerhouse consumer brands including Kraft, Quaker, eBay, and Nike, she brings deep expertise in digital-first, integrated marketing to her leadership role at John Anthony Wine & Spirits.

Since joining John Anthony Wine & Spirits in 2015 as the company’s first marketing hire, Sarah has created a distinctive marketing ecosystem that drives significant consumer demand and engagement across a growing portfolio. She led Butter Wines, a disruptor of the wine aisle with its quality and simplicity, from 100k to almost 1MM cases produced, earning multiple Hot Brand and Blue Chip Brand awards. She has launched several brands and SKUs for the company, including line and packaging extensions for Butter Wines, Serial Wines from Paso Robles, Weather Wines from Sonoma Coast, as well as building the signature brand John Anthony Vineyards in Napa Valley. Most recently, Sarah and her team re-branded the company, adding spirits as well as low-alcohol and no-alcohol offerings, including Johnny Tejas Ranch Water RTDs, Japanese Sake brand Hachidori, and ButterLight Chardonnay, the #1 Best-Tasting Light Wine. Sarah is an active advocate in the regions where John Anthony Wine & Spirits crafts beverages through involvement in Napa Valley Vintners, Visit Napa Valley, Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, Sonoma County Vintners, and Paso Robles CAB Collective. Sarah was recently honored on PR Net’s Marcomms Most Influential 2025 list.

Sarah Montague can be contacted at Sarah@JohnAnthonyWS.com.

Art Pinn

Art’s career in wine and spirits spans 3 decades—helping build storied brands such as Jim Beam, Geyser Peak, Jordan Winery and Robert Mondavi. Art also has deep experience on the retail and wholesaler side of the wine and spirits business with both Bohemian Distributing Company, Excelsior Wine Company and co-founding a fine wines and spirits brokerage Concurrent Wine Brokers based in Southern California. Art joins the John Anthony Wine & Spirits executive team as VP Distribution Sales following 7 years in the role of Director of Sales—Western US, helping grow the JaM Cellars portfolio 10x during that time and helping launch multiple new SKUs into distribution for the company. Art, his wife Paige and their family live in Southern California and together enjoy all the best things in life.

Art Pinn can be contacted at Art@JohnAnthonyWS.com.

Elizabeth Imboden

Elizabeth is the longest-serving member of the John Anthony Wine & Spirits team, having joined the company in 2013. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, Elizabeth translated her BA in Politics to accounting, finance and business learning the wine, spirits, and hospitality industries and helping the company grow to 1MM case production. While supporting John in the role of Executive Assistant, Elizabeth earned her MBA with honors from UC Davis in 2022, with a concentration in Finance. She is also WSET Level II certified. Elizabeth’s dedication, continual growth and development, and loyalty earned her spot on the Executive Team as Chief of Staff. Her knowledge across all facets of John Anthony Wine & Spirits is an invaluable resource as we expand toward our next million case milestone.

Elizabeth Imboden can be contacted at Elizabeth@JohnAnthonyWS.com.

Liza Butler

Liza Butler has a storied 30-year career conceiving, designing and launching successful beverage alcohol brands. An award-winning, multi-disciplinary design leader, strategic thinker and storyteller, Liza’s focus is on differentiating the brands she creates. Her creative philosophy leads to the creation of distinctive, engaging products that connect with consumers on a personal level. Liza’s career started with leading London design agencies including Design Bridge and Springetts introducing her to the wine and spirits industry, where she found her passion. Prior to joining John Anthony Wine & Spirits in 2017, Liza was Senior Director of Creative at E & J Gallo Winery driving new brand development and managing a design portfolio of over 100 wine and spirits brands in the premium and popular price segments. Originally from England, Liza gained her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Derbyshire University. Her dry British sense of humor carry her through her busy career and personal life as mother to twin boys and athlete dedicated to fitness and health.

Liza Butler can be contacted at Liza@JohnAnthonyWS.com.

Jeff Harris

Jeff brings a wealth of diverse industry experience to the CFO role at John Anthony Wine & Spirits. In addition to wine, he has served in senior financial leadership roles in the Media, Entertainment, Retail, F&B and the Home Furnishings industries.

He was raised in rural Illinois and began his career in Finance at The Tribune Company in Chicago. He moved to California in the mid ‘90’s and worked for The Walt Disney Company’s Consumer Products division as a Director of Finance.  Jeff was then lured to Northern California to work for Lucasfilm. While living in Marin, he became interested in the wine business and invested in a small vineyard in Healdsburg.

After Lucasfilm, Jeff worked for Gymboree as CFO and helped take the company private to Bain Capital in 2011. In 2014, Jeff and his wife moved to Healdsburg full time with Jeff following his passion to take the role of CFO/COO for Purple Wine Company.

Jeff has since also held CFO positions for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Mancini’s Sleep World in the Bay Area. He is uniquely positioned to bring broad financial and operational experience to grow John Anthony Wine & Spirits into a leading beverage business.

Jeff Harris can be contacted at JHarris@JohnAnthonyWS.com.