Beverage Experts

An award-winning author, speaker, consultant, and television host, Leslie Sbrocco, is known for her entertaining approach to wine, food, and travel, as well as inspiring others to live a life of passion. Sbrocco’s engaging personality, humor, and ability to connect with the audience – whether on screen or on stage – are her trademarks.

As host of the PBS restaurant review series, Check Please! Bay Area, Sbrocco has won a James Beard award and four Emmy awards in 19 seasons on air. Her new PBS series, 100 DAYS, DRINKS, DISHES & DESTINATIONS, showcases Leslie’s adventures as she discovers global culinary treasures. It currently appears on more than 300 stations nationwide.
Leslie is a regular guest on NBC’s Today Show and her work has appeared in multiple online and magazine publications. Her first book, Wine for Women: A Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wine (William Morrow), won the coveted Georges Duboeuf Best Wine Book of the Year award.

Sbrocco is one of the country’s most sought-after culinary and inspirational speakers and has showcased her energetic style at hundreds of events. She is also a respected judge at national and global wine competitions. www.LeslieSbrocco.com

Anne Becerra is constantly delighted that she gets to share her passion for great beer and delicious beverages alongside her genuine love for hospitality and call it a career. She was the first female Certified Cicerone in NYC and has been at the helm of some of the best bars and restaurants in Manhattan for over 15 years, in multiple capacities. With incredible attention to detail she creates strategic, comprehensive beverage programs, personalized training curricula and organizational systems, that help build and develop lasting hospitality brands. Throughout her career, she’s developed deep rooted industry knowledge and cultivated long term relationships that she uses to help foster a positive and professional culture in every project she takes on. In 2019, she was named one of FSR Magazine’s “32 Restaurant Stars on the Rise,” and is not only enthusiastic about great beer and food, but the people and community that surrounds it. With a distinct focus on hospitality and storytelling, she believes the best part about beer is sharing it.

In addition to her work in the bar and restaurant industry, Anne also has her hands in several other parts of the beer business, including creating and hosting the upcoming “Beer, Wine and Takeout” podcast. In 2023 she launched annelikesbeer.com and “Quenched” – which focuses on beer and beverage-focused consulting, products, and experiences. Anne is a recurring speaker at the Food & Wine Classic in both Aspen and Charleston, has written for Serious Eats and Martha Stewart Living, and been featured in The New York Times, CNN, The Rachael Ray Show, Food and Wine, TIME Magazine, Forbes, Marie Claire, NBC, Wall Street Journal, Viceland and countless others. She’s a regular guest on Sirius XM, and was the seasonal co-host on Beer Sessions Radio on the Heritage Radio Network. Anne regularly curates and hosts dinners, tastings, and classes across the country, has helped organize major festivals and events, and has conducted seminars at The Women’s Chef and Restaurateur Conference, Tales of the Cocktail, Glamour’s Women of the Year Summit, the Japan Society, the Culinary Institute of America, amongst others. She’s also frequently a beer judge for multiple state and national competitions.

With a true passion for people and great conversation, she loves to explore the relationships between beer, food, and pretty much anything delicious while using her platforms to promote and support the hospitality community, healthy living, and face to face connection.

Andy has always had an interest in how things taste. After working his way through local restaurants, Andy headed straight for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to round out his education in the culinary arts and restaurant management. After a stint at Little Nell, Andy found his true interest in the front of house. He graduated from the CIA in 2002, moved to Walland, Tenn., and began his career with Blackberry Farm in 2002. He soon became involved in the young wine program. In less than six years, Blackberry’s wine cellar grew from 17,000 bottles to 166,000. With Andy Chabot’s talent on the floor, the wine program has become synonymous with the success of Blackberry Farm. In 2007 Andy took on the role of Director of Food and Beverage, running all aspects of the service and beverage departments at Blackberry Farm. The Barn at Blackberry Farm, under Andy’s direction, has been honored with three James Beard Awards: Best Chef Southeast 2013, Outstanding Wine Program 2014, and Outstanding Service 2015. With the opening of Blackberry Mountain in 2019, Andy expanded his leadership to guide the development of menus and the wine cellar at the new resort as the Vice President of Food and Beverage at both properties.

In 2022, Andy was promoted to Senior Vice President of Food and Beverage for Blackberry Farm and Blackberry Mountain. Today, Andy is responsible for all aspects of the food and beverage programs at both resorts, encompassing seven restaurant outlets, all wine and spirits programs, the Farmstead areas as well as overseeing special events and groups at the properties. 

Andy’s media features include Imbibe Magazine, Wine Spectator Magazine, Food & Wine Magazine, The TODAY Show, Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40, and more. Andy has proceeded past the advanced level of the Court of Master Sommeliers Exam and was the recipient of the Michael Bonaccorsi Scholarship.

Matthew Conway is the owner, operator, and sommelier at The Tippling House in Charleston’s Elliotborough neighborhood. The Tippling House is an intimate wine bar set in a Charleston Single house that Mr. Conway renovated to preserve its historic feel from when it was built in the late 1800’s. The daily wine list is printed and dated every day, highlighting a global selection of bottles produced by families that respect the land they farm and the history of their domaines. All of the wines are available by the half bottle and are offered with a seasonal menu featuring wine-friendly small plates and entrees by Chef Micah Pearson. Conway also offers “Matthew’s Stash,” which is a list of fine and rare wines from the best vintages and producers sourced from his personal cellar. Matthew prides himself on having created a wine bar that caters to all wine lovers regardless of taste or budget.

Mr. Conway moved to Charleston, South Carolina in March of 2020 after 17 years in New York City and 14 years as partner and beverage director at Restaurant Marc Forgione. Conway, a native Californian, moved to NYC in 2004 where he worked for the late Chef Gray Kunz at Café Gray in the Time Warner center from 2004-2007. In 2008 he became the general manager and wine buyer for Restaurant Marc Forgione in TriBeCa, before eventually becoming partner. In 2010 he took a short leave to work in the world-famous cellars of Taillevent in Paris, France. After returning in the fall of 2010 Restaurant Marc Forgione received one Michelin Star. Shortly thereafter, Matthew became a certified coffee sommelier, was honored as one of Zagat’s “30 Under 30” in 2012 and named one of Star Chefs “Rising Star Sommeliers” of 2015. Matthew has consistently been a featured sommelier at several of the top wine events of the year including but not limited to La Paulée and La Fête du Champagne. Matthew now holds partnership at La Tablée which focuses on the Northern Rhône Valley which Matthew is nationally recognized as a leading industry expert on.

Since opening The Tippling House in October 2021, his team has received glowing coverage from Wine Spectator, Food & Wine magazine and Charleston City Paper. In 2004 The Tippling House was named a “Top wine bar, according to the pros.” By Food and Wine Magazine. The Post & Courier named Matthew and his fiancé Carissa Hernandez a Charleston “Food and Beverage Power Couple” in February of 2022. He resides in downtown Charleston with Carissa and their three Pekingese Devlin, Zuccy, and Sammy.

Originally from Alabama, Marie Stitt grew up in Charleston and developed a love of food, wine, and restaurants early on thanks to her parents. She has worked on wine harvests in Napa and Austria and she studied sustainable food systems in Italy where she met her husband and business partner Edward. Marie spent 12 years with a local distributor, Grassroots Wine, as their director of sales and operations. She and Edward opened babas on cannon, an all day European-style cafe, in Charleston in 2018. Their third babas location, babas on wentworth, opened in December.