MICHAEL LYNNE, OWNER
(pictured second from left)
A New York native, Michael Lynne graduated from Brooklyn College in 1961 with a degree in English Literature and received his law degree from Columbia Law School in 1964. Lynne began his legal career with a firm specializing in theatrical representation, which happily dovetailed with his lifelong passion for theater, film and television. After working as an attorney for Embassy Pictures (The Graduate, The Producers), he founded the entertainment law firm, Blumenthal & Lynne in the early 1970's. In 1990, he left the firm to become President and Chief Operating Officer of New Line Cinema, and in 2001 was named Co-Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of New Line.  During his twenty-plus year association with the company, he was a driving force in its becoming the most successful, fully integrated independent film company in the world, with divisions devoted to the production, marketing and distribution of theatrical motion pictures as well as home entertainment, television, music, theater, licensing and merchandising.  Mr. Lynne oversaw production and distribution of a diverse mix of both financially successful and critically acclaimed motion pictures, including The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, About Schmidt, the Austin Powers films, Shine, Blade, Rush Hour, Seven, Dumb & Dumber, The Mask, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Magnolia, Elf, The Player, Wag the Dog, Little Children, Hairspray, The Golden Compass, and the Nightmare on Elm Street series. An ardent wine enthusiast, he initially considered vineyards in California, Italy and France but chose the properties on the North Fork for the quality of the wines being produced and for their proximity to his residence. Lynne likes to recall a family road trip made years ago to the North Fork during Long Island wine country's nascent years and a chance meeting with winemaker Kip Bedell that left a lasting impression. Lynne's admiration and enthusiasm for the region have steadily grown ever since that day. Likening the area to the Napa Valley of 15 years ago, Lynne says, "It's an exciting moment for Long Island wine and I am thrilled to be part of the future of this vibrant new wine region."

OPERATIONS and FINANCE

Trent Preszler, Chief Operating Officer and Advisory Director
(pictured second from right)
Trent has worked closely with owner Michael Lynne to guide Bedell through its recent transformation. He managed the design and construction of a new winery and recruited a new winemaking team, and continues to make groundbreaking innovations in brand management. In 2004, Trent leveraged Michael's connections in the contemporary art world to launch a new artist series blend called Taste, featuring label artwork by Barbara Kruger. Among other national recognition, the wine garnered praise from Oprah and Vanity Fair, and sold out virtually overnight on its way to becoming one of the most iconic and recognizable New York wines.  The artist series continued in subsequent years with the release of two more ultra premium wines:  Gallery (a Chardonnay-Sauv Blanc-Viognier blend with label by Ross Bleckner) and Musée (a Merlot-Cab Sauv blend with label by Chuck Close).  Through his work, Trent has raised the profile of the Long Island winegrowing region to new heights, culminating recently with the recognition of Bedell as one of the "Top 10 Hottest Small Brands" in America by Wine Business Monthly.  

Trent grew up on a cattle ranch in South Dakota and went on to complete undergraduate studies at Iowa State University, where he received several national postgraduate awards, including Phi Beta Kappa, the Rotary Scholarship, the Udall Scholarship, and the Truman Scholarship National Finalist distinction.  He subsequently earned a Master's Diploma in Botany at The University of Edinburgh and Royal Botanic Gardens (U.K.).  During the Clinton Presidency, Trent worked as a research associate for biodiversity policy at the National Institutes of Health, and for international affairs at The White House Office of Science & Technology Policy.  During that time he became a contributing author to Conservation Medicine, a book about biodiversity published by Oxford University Press.  In 2002, right before joining Bedell, Trent completed a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics at Cornell University.  His research there focused on marketing New York wines, and received the Outstanding Thesis award from the Cornell College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.  Trent is an active Board member of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, and Chair-Elect of the Iowa State University Young Alumni Council.  He currently resides in Ithaca, NY, where he is back at Cornell pursuing a Ph.D. in Viticulture.

Holly Palm, Operations Manager
Holly started at Bedell Cellars as a Tasting Room pourer in 2001. Her role has continually grown to the point where her responsibilities cross over several areas of the company and her experience is invaluable. She is Assistant to the COO and the central coordinator of operational logistics related to purchasing, shipping, delivery, order fulfillment, maintenance, personnel, licensing and compliance. She is also responsible for Bedell and Corey Creek's sponsored events programs. In this capacity she coordinates the Lynne Family's support of arts organizations that include the Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center Theater, and the Hamptons Film Festival.

WINEMAKING

Pascal Marty, Consulting Oenologist
(pictured center)
After graduating from the Oenology Institute of Bordeaux in 1983, Pascal Marty served as Director of Winemaking for Baron Philippe de Rothschild, S.A. for more than 14 years and was an integral part of the company's global expansion, launching Rothschild joint ventures in California with Robert Mondavi (Opus One) and with Concha y Toro in Chile (Viña Almaviva). Marty was Assistant General and Technical Oenological and Viticultural Director for the joint Opus One venture and also a member of the task force in charge of the construction of its innovative winery. Opus One, an award-winning blended wine (Cabernet Sauvignon with other Bordeaux varieties, generally Cabernet Franc and Merlot), created its own market niche as the first, true ultra-premium wine when it was launched in 1984.

In 1997, Marty was handpicked to develop the first super-premium Chilean wine from that up-and-coming wine region as Co-General Manager of Viña Almaviva, S.A. Utilizing Bordeaux "First Growth" principles, he revitalized 40 hectares of vineyards and supervised the construction of the wine cellar. Since its launch, Viña Almaviva has been consistently rated as the top Chilean wine on the market. Marty's wines have consistently received ratings in the extraordinary 95-100 point range by such well respected industry authorities as Robert Parker and Wine Spectator. Marty is currently on the Board of the renowned Cousino-Macul winery in Santiago, and maintains a small portfolio of select consulting clients globally; Bedell is one of only three in North America (the others being Pine Ridge in Napa and Archery Summit in Oregon).

Kip Bedell, Founding Winemaker
(pictured far left)
Kip Bedell began making wine at his home in Garden City, Long Island during the 1970's, with a home winemaking kit he received from his brother. He and his wife Susan joined a wine tasting group and enjoyed tasting and discussing wines with wine-loving friends. After several years of trial and error, Kip realized that his interest in wines had extended beyond basement winemaking. Aware of the attention that Alex and Louisa Hargrave (the founders of the Long Island wine industry and co-proprietors of Hargrave Vineyards) were receiving with their vineyard in Cutchogue, Kip made several trips out to the North Fork of Long Island. Encouraged by conversations with the Hargraves, Kipe began searching for suitable vineyard land, which eventually led him to purchase the 50-acre David’s Potato Farm in Cutchogue in 1979.  For the next ten years, the Bedells commuted to and from Garden City to establish Bedell Vineyards. With the help of friends, they planted the first seven acres of vines and continued plantings over the next three years. The crops from '83 and '84 were the first grapes Kip sold. During the harvest of 1985 hurricane Gloria arrived, creating severe problems with power losses and the loss of most of the red grapes to the storm. Kip prefers to look at 1986 as the first "real" harvest. That year, Bedell Cellars produced award winning wines and won a Gold Medal from the Dallas Morning News Competition with their 1986 Chardonnay Reserve. By 1987, nineteen acres had been planted and annual case production reached 3,000. Kip now oversees the winemaking for a total of 78 acres (the Bedell, Corey Creek and Wells Road Vineyards) and a current annual production of 12,000 cases.

Kelly Urbanik, Assistant Winemaker
Kelly is one of the few women making wine in Eastern North America today and the first to be hired by a Long Island winery. She grew up closely connected to the vineyards in her hometown of St. Helena, California. After receiving her B.S. in Viticulture & Enology from UC Davis she was selected as a Laureate by the Confrerie des Chevaliers du Tastevin in Burgundy, which allowed her to work the 2003 harvest at Maison Louis Jadot. She ultimately became Assistant Winemaker at Bouchaine Vineyards in Carneros (Napa Valley) in 2004. A new addition to the North Fork, Kelly is busy learning how to sail and playing in the beach volleyball league.

GRAPE GROWING

Dave Thompson, Vineyard Manager
Dave has been associated with the Long Island wine industry since 1980. In 1981, he planted Ressler Vineyards and managed it until joining Kip Bedell for Kip's first vintage in 1985. He has been with Bedell ever since. Dave is a member of the board of the Long Island Vineyard Technical Group, the Long Island Grape Research Advisory Committee, and the Long Island Sustainable Agriculture program.

Donna Rudolph, Assistant Vineyard Manager
Donna joined us in November '96. Although she had no formal training, she came to us after 15 years at Ressler Vineyards, where, coincidentally, she and Vineyard Manager Dave Thompson worked together for 3 years. Her favorite tasks in the vineyard are "pruning and tying, and learning how to get the best fruit from the vine." She is responsible for making certain that the crew gets their jobs done. Make sure you're not standing too close if you ask her, "Do you step on the grapes?"

SALES and MARKETING

Jim Silver, Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing
(pictured far right)
Jim joined Bedell’s team in fall 2007, bringing with him over 20 years of extraordinary, broad experience in the fine wine industry.  He began his career as a retail wine buyer specializing in the wines of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and spent several years as the Beverage Director at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. Silver has also held positions on the East Coast for the French company Remy Martin, the Spanish Grupo Codorniu, the Swiss owned Hess Group (which includes the Hess Collection Winery in Napa), and was National Sales Director for Pindar Vineyards on Long Island. At Bedell, Jim manages strategic sales and marketing, pricing, brand positioning, service, and education – all areas of responsibility with crossover in the Bedell and Corey Creek tasting rooms, Wine Club, and national wholesale distribution network. Silver is a Culinary Arts graduate from Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia and studied at La Varenne in Dijon, France. Most recently he was awarded an advanced certificate with honors from the London based Institute of Masters of Wine.

Jean Partridge, Wholesale Account Executive
Jean has been with the company since before it was purchased by Michael Lynne, and in that time has risen through the ranks from tasting room pourer to manager, working across all areas of sales including the Wine Club.  Jean has thrived in her new role as wholesale account representative, and in the process has helped increase Bedell’s placements significantly among NYC-area restaurants and retailers.  Working closely with Jim Silver, Jean is responsible for carrying the Bedell message and product into the marketplace and assisting the sales representatives in Bedell’s distributor network.

 HOSPITALITY

Kim Folks-MacKinnon, Events Director
Kim joined the Bedell team in 2007 with considerable experience in wine and culinary events management as well as the Long Island wine industry.  Believing that “it is the North Fork’s turn to be discovered,” Kim has guided Bedell into a new realm of hosting upscale events for select corporate and bridal clients.  She has developed strong relationships with catering and event planning companies in the Hamptons and New York City, and along with owners Michael and Ninah Lynne she has helped the Bedell brand emerge in new arenas of New York event society.  A native of Southampton, Kim has been professionally involved in the hospitality industry since graduating with a B.A. from Pine Manor College in Boston in 1988.  She has held positions as Concierge for a hotel located near Lincoln Center, an assistant sommelier at Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Wine School, and was, for four years, Conference Services & Senior Catering Sales Manager at Chateau Sonesta, an upscale hotel in the French Quarter of New Orleans.  Kim left New Orleans to become Events Director at Wolffer Estate in Sagaponack, Long Island.  She held that position for seven years while building the events business and working closely with private clients and charitable organizations such as The James Beard Foundation and Southampton Youth Services.