Super Early Bird Ends
October 31, 2024
Judging
Date
May 19, 2025
Winners Announcement
June 10, 2025
Luke Kenning is a native to Northern California, having been raised in West Marin just north of San Francisco. His experiences in his small dynamic community have been a driving force in the decision to spend his career in the hospitality/wine industry. Luke began his career in Larkspur, California (Marin County) at Bradley Ogden’s, Lark Creek Inn. It was here he worked on the art of better communication and his education with wine began. In 2007, Kenning passed his certified sommelier accreditation through The Guild of Master Sommeliers.
Shortly after Luke became the wine director at the nationally acclaimed Farallon Restaurant near Union Square in San Francisco. In his ten year tenure the wine program was annually honored with the “best of award of excellence” from Wine Spectator Magazine. During his time at Farallon Restaurant, Kenning co-produced the highly anticipated wine event PinotFest, an annual domestic Pinot noir tasting featuring 60 west coast wineries. He has worked for organizations such as: San Francisco Meal on Wheels, Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Tasting panels with the San Francisco Chronicle, Wine Judge for USA Wine Ratings Kenning has been featured in Wine & Spirits Magazine also appearing in the Somm Journal and The Tasting Panel.