A SLO County native, second-generation winemaker and third-generation farmer, Brian Talley certainly has the pedigree of a pioneer.

In 1996, Brian staged the world’s first ever video simulcast wine tasting to celebrate Talley Vineyards’ 10th anniversary. “We hosted a blind tasting of pinot noirs from Talley with a panel with the exact same wines in New York,” he says. Just a few years later, he co-founded the World of Pinot Noir, a multi-day event that, today, draws winemakers, journalists and pinot noir enthusiasts from around the globe.

In 2010, Brian developed what would become the Talley Farms CSA box program, arguably the most well-known of its kind in SLO County. He started the program as a beta test based on the success of the Talley Vineyard wine club; today, the CSA distributes 4,000 boxes of farm-fresh, seasonal produce for subscribers each week. An avid cook, Brian also wrote a memoir cookbook called Our California Table in 2016.

But perhaps Brian’s most enduring contribution to the county’s food and wine culture is the Fund for Vineyard and Farm Workers, which he launched with his wife, Johnine, in 2004. Held at San Luis Obispo County’s Community Foundation, the fund provides grants to organizations that serve vineyard and farm workers locally. To date, the fund has distributed 44 grants for a total of $209,632.

“I feel like I’m blessed to live in one of the most special places on earth where we can grow all this incredible food and wine,” Brian says. “There are very few places you can do both of those as successfully as we can right here with such a diversity of different items we grow. I’m inspired to share that with people.”