Born in Chicago, Mark Bright has been passionate about wine since he first went to Europe at the age of 15. His travels took him to the regions of Burgundy and the Rhone Valley, where he found his inspiration in the wine world and has kept that focus and advocacy throughout his career. Mark began his career in wine when he joined the Bellagio team on his 21st birthday, working as a sommelier at Aqua Restaurant in Las Vegas. He went on to become the opening sommelier for the flagship programs at the Mina restaurants in San Francisco. In 2005, he was honored as one of the “Best New Sommeliers” by Wine and Spirits and was featured as a “New Wine Turk” by Wine Spectator in 2006. In 2009, he helped launch Saison, which is now recognized as the original fine dining establishment in the USA to use open hearth cooking. Eventually drawn to the Santa Cruz Mountains, Mark began his career in winemaking and created Saison Winery. Today, Mark still serves as the Co-Founder, Beverage Director, and Winemaker for Saison Hospitality Group.