Nancy Vineyard, National-Level BJCP Beer Judge

Co-Founder, Previous Owner, Managerial Consultant

Nancy started making wine while a student at UC Berkeley in the 1970's. She worked at Wine and the People for several years as a cellar rat, helping Peter Brehm with his commercial winery. By 1978, she and her husband, Byron Burch, and another partner, started Great Fermentations in San Rafael and opened a second location two years later in Santa Rosa. As home brewing was legalized, the hobby grew exponentially and both stores thrived through the 1980's. Largely due to location and a bit of other good fortune, the Santa Rosa store began to outgross the San Rafael store, allowing Byron and Nancy to set out independently and leading to a name change to The Beverage People. Nancy began to play with cheesemaking in the late 1990's, convincing her partners that this was a fermentation hobby that was worthy of their attention. Who knew how many people wanted to make their own cheese! Lot's of cheeses were vetted at this time, including the standouts Brie, Camembert,Chèvre and Petaluma Blue Cheese. Besides her work at The Beverage People, Nancy has taught numerous classes in all the hobbies, most recently a cheesemaking seminar for Winemaker Magazine in 2016. She continues to make wine at home as well as play with her puppy Sweetie and cat Sam.