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Sarah was born in Pennsylvania; she and her family moved to Lyndhurst when she was five and has lived in the Shenandoah Valley ever since. After completing her undergraduate degree in Health Service Administration at James Madison University, she worked at Augusta Health in Provider Recruitment and Credentialing. She developed a passion and connection to the area's wine and craft beer industry. After completing her MBA program, Sarah joined the Hazy Mountain team as the General Manager and has been working passionately to ensure that Hazy is operating at the highest possible level and continuing to grow to be better every day. When she’s not at Hazy Mountain, Sarah enjoys exploring new breweries, wineries and local hiking trails with her golden retriever, Dakota. Sarah’s favorite pairing is a glass (or two) of malbec with smoked gouda and bacon stuffed pork loin.
Sarah McGinnis
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Jason moved to Virginia from his home state of Louisiana in 2003 to study Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech.
While on break in 2008, a lifelong love of plants and the outdoors led him to seize an opportunity as vineyard manager at First Colony Winery. He took great interest in the vine to wine concept and furthered his knowledge with winemakers Benoit Pineau and Brad McCarthy. During his 14 year tenure, he learned nearly every winery role including, winemaker, director of operations and general manager.
Jason started with Hazy Mountain in the spring of 2022 as the Vineyard & Estate Manager of the Afton Campus. He is enjoying the challenge of the site and looks forward to many vintages on the mountain. He currently lives in Waynesboro with his wife, Martha, and a border collie mix named Cleo. He has a love of trains, Lego, and taking things apart, but not necessarily putting them back together.
JASON HAYMAN
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Bryan Fernandez is Hazy Mountain’s Assistant Wine Maker. Bryan‘s journey with Hazy Mountain started in 2019. Since coming onboard, Bryan has been a versatile member of the team in every facet of production and operations. Over the years, Bryan has been involved in all stages of production; planting, vineyard maintenance, harvest, wine making and bottling. Bryan’s experience with both vineyards -- the Swoope vineyard, Little North Mountain Vineyard, in the Shenandoah Valley AVA and the Afton vineyard, Hazy Mountain’s Estate Vineyard in the Monticello AVA has given him perspective to the varying terroir between the AVAs. His passion and primary role with Hazy is in our winery, as the right-hand man to our winemaker, where he has the satisfying experience of seeing the harvest all the way through its final stages of production. Outside of work, Bryan enjoys spending time with family, the outdoors, trying new foods and cooking. Bryan’s favorite pairing is a nice steak or pork chop with a great bottle of Cabernet Franc.
BRYAN FERNANDEZ
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Gavin found his way to the wine industry the way many often do: by proving conclusively to himself and everyone around him that he was obviously not cut out for an office job. His first gig in the wine world was a summer internship during college at Sugarleaf Winery in North Garden, VA as a vineyard assistant. After a couple years in the non-profit world after undergrad, slowly losing his mind behind a desk, fond memories of workdays spent amongst the vines pulling leaves and hanging nets brought him back to the Charlottesville area. He was hired as the Assistant Winemaker (and later Winemaker) at Thatch winery in 2024 where he worked for 8 years honing his skills in the cellar. In 2022 he was hired as the Vineyard Manager at Michael Shaps Virginia Wineworks, shepherding their three estate vineyards and numerous client vineyards through 3 incredible harvests, before joining the team at Hazy Mountain in 2025.
When he's not fretting obsessively over the most recent run of the GFS forecast model or agonizing about whether a strategic 1.5% addition of Petit Verdot will finally pull a Bordeaux blend together, Gavin can likely be found cooking elaborate meals with his wife, hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains, or traveling far and wide in search of the perfect glass of Chenin Blanc.
GAVIN BAUM
LUKE STEWART
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Scott enjoyed a twenty plus year career in Las Vegas’s ever changing hospitality scene. Starting as a Chef at Commander’s Palace, learning Creole cuisine and Southern hospitality from the Brennan family, before moving into food and beverage director roles that saw him successfully executing thousands of weddings, conventions, and events.
Before moving to Virginia to join the Hazy team, Scott spent about five years traveling the US in regional restaurant and casino management roles. Plus, a couple years of low country living in Charleston, South Carolina.
His favorite pairing is Kentucky bourbon with fried chicken, but since we are all here for the wine, he also loves pinot noir with Spanish goat cheese. While you can often catch Scott daydreaming about his next European wine country vacation his favorite thing to do is hang out at home having wine and cheese with his wife Jessica and kitten Tipsy.
SCOTT KOLEN
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Wiley grew up in Richmond, Virginia and started working in restaurants shortly after graduating high school. He quickly became fascinated with the world of food and wine, and how the two are intertwined. Wiley moved to the area in 2012 to explore the wealth of wineries and restaurants here in central Virginia, visiting tasting rooms whenever he had the opportunity.
He jumped at the opportunity to join the Hazy Mountain tasting room team and is eager to show our guests the best of what this exciting winery has to offer. When he's not working in the tasting room, Wiley enjoys further developing his obsessions with cooking, houseplants, collecting vinyl records, and vintage Ralph Lauren. His current favorite food and wine pairing is a full bodied Chardonnay and an entire rotisserie chicken.
WILEY KIMBALL
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With over a decade in the luxury wedding industry, Dani Sabbag brings expertise and passion to hr role as Director of Sales and Planning at Hazy Mountain Vineyards & Brewery. From Hawaii to Italy and beyond, she has curated unforgettable celebrations - including distinguished celebrity events - blending hospitality, design, and storytelling to craft experiences that are as seamless as they are spectacular.
DANIELLE SABBAG
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Luke Stewart has lived in the Charlottesville area for most of his life. He owned Lelo’s Pizza for 15 years. After closing Lelo’s he worked as the Director of Operations at Trump Winery before joining our team as General Manager.
PAIGE DUMOND
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Paige, a graduate of James Madison University with a degree in Hospitality Management and a minor in Business, is a high-energy, organized wedding and event planner. She specializes in creating fun, stress-free, and personalized planning experiences. With a focus on clear communication and attention to detail, Paige ensures couples feel supported, excited, and fully present on their special day.