John Carpenter, Owner

John did Graduate studies at the University of Bordeaux, which ignited his passion for French wine and started his pursuit of a career in the wine business. After working in the San Francisco wine trade for several years he founded The Wine House in November of 1977. John scours the wine regions of France several times a year, tasting and retasting, seeking out new growers and developing relationships with existing ones, making sure only the best wines have the "Imported by Wine House Limited" label on them.

David Netzer, General Manager

David has been with the Wine House since 1984, as our store manager. He is also the buyer of our German and Austrian wines, among others. He is familiar with our entire inventory and can speak Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Loire, Champagne, Languedoc, Alsace, California, Germany, Austria, and New Zealand. His favorite wineries (subject to change by whim) include: Au Bon Climat in Santa Barbara, CA, Philippe Ehrhart in Alsace, Domaine Santa Duc in the Rhone Valley, and Daniel Hecquet's Chateau Calabre and Chateau Puy Servain in Bergerac.

Peter Zavialoff, Wine Sales

Joining us in February 2006, Peter may be fairly new to the wine business, but not to the wine world. A trip to the Napa Wine Auction several years ago got him a seat at a dinner with multiple tasting flights, and the rest was history. A regular visitor to northern California wine country since, he's stomped around vineyards in Austria, Bulgaria, Tuscany, Alsace, Bordeaux, and the south of France. He is particularly fond of red Bordeaux and red Rhone wines, but Peter is a firm believer of having plenty of quality, lower priced wines handy to avoid opening "a Lynch-Bages with a pizza." A regular contributor to our newsletters, email offerings, the Dirty Dozen, and A Taste of Burgundy, he does his homework and is always happy to share his thoughts with all who dare ask him to. His current favorite producers/wines are Chateau d'Or et de Gueules in Costieres de Nimes, Quinta do Alqueve in Portugal, and Alberto Furque's Bodega Aconquija in Argentina.

A native San Franciscan, supporter of Chelsea football club, and a fan of all things musical, Peter's been known to take his guitar out in public from time to time, and sing some of his songs for us.

Anya Balistreri, Sales/ Domestic Wine Buyer

Anya has been working with The Wine House for 10 years. She grew up spending summers on the Russian River observing the dramatic change of landscape as the wine industry exploded in Northern California. After working for a niche-market winery for a couple years, she decided to situate herself in a place where the focus was centered on the great wines of France. Still an advocate (and drinker) of great California zins, Anya never tires of turning people onto great, bang-for-your-buck wines from the south of France, Rhone, and any region, really, that allows for everyday enjoyment.

Chris Anthony, Warehouse, Shipping, and Cava Manager

Chris has been with The Wine House since October 2005. Starting in the warehouse with almost no wine knowledge, a California-conditioned palette, and a dislike of anything white, Chris has since acquired a taste for the "Old World." He now has a love of funky, earthy, and herbal qualities in wine, and, after a trip to Alsace in Oct. 2006, will often be seen at a table quaffing a glass of something he would have called "pigment challenged" (white wine) only a year or so ago.

Chris plays guitar and mandolin, and likes to throat sing in trees and bang on things. He wouldn't be so "busy" all of the time if Ben practiced his banjo as much as he should.