BRIAN LILLIE

PRESIDENT

Brian Lillie is the Vice President of Hospitality and Distribution at Chateau Chantal Winery. He has been active in the Michigan Wine Industry since 2005. For a decade he worked with the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council planning the Annual Grape and Wine Conference. In 2013 he chaired the MiCast (Michigan Certified Alcohol Service Training) Program which received the 2015 Pure Michigan Governor’s Award for Innovative Tourism Collaboration Award in Education and Training.

ANDREW BACKLIN

VICE PRESIDENT

Andrew Backlin, a native Northern Californian, has been surrounded by winegrowing and winemaking for much of his life. During high school, his first job was working on a bottling line after school. Andrew always had an interest in foraging for wild plants and fermentation. It started with kombucha brewing, which then led to homebrewing, and eventually, he fell in love with winemaking. Andrew began his Michigan wine career at Lawton Ridge Winery before briefly returning to California to work for Duckhorn wines. In 2018, he and his family returned to Michigan to become the winemaker at Modales in Fennville where he focuses  90% of winemaking processes to Native Fermentations and adopting a hands-off approach. Modales is now transitioning their vineyards to organic viticulture.

PETER KING III

TREASURER

Peter King III has been making wine for the past 8 years. He is one of three founding partners of Drew Ryan wines based out of Southfield Michigan. The partners are in the process of opening a tasting room in the city of Detroit and have planted the first vines this past spring on a small lot off of the Detroit river where they are growing Cabernet Franc grapes.

BRIAN LESPERANCE

SECRETARY

Brian heads up Fenn Valley Vineyards in Fennville, MI. Brian’s background in operations and management coupled with Fenn Valley’s vast experience allowed him to assume the title of Winemaker in 2015. He now runs the day-to-day operations with a focus on marketing and business development.