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Mark Bright (born 1982) is the sommelier / co-owner of the seasonally-focused restaurant Saison and casual wine bar, Vinyl, in San Francisco.

Career
Born in Chicago, Mark Bright has been passionate about wine since he went to Europe at the age of 15. At 17, he starting working at Aqua Restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, while attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where he studied Food and Beverage Management. At UNLV Mark was the President of the Wine Club and helped organize many events to beneﬁt the school as a Senate Representative. He joined the Bellagio Sommelier team on his 21st birthday, working on the ﬂoor at Aqua Restaurant.

In 2004, Rajat Parr, the wine director for Michael Mina's restaurants, invited Bright to be the sommelier for one of the biggest restaurant openings in San Francisco's history – Restaurant Michael Mina. Bright fell in love with San Francisco's diverse culture and cuisine and found many people who shared his passion for food and wine. During his time at Michael Mina, Bright also assisted in the wine programs at many of Mina's restaurants including Arcadia in San Jose, Sea Blue and Nob Hill at MGM Grand Las Vegas, and Stonehill Tavern at the St. Regis Monarch Bay.

Bright's consulting business has worked with many restaurants and chefs throughout the Bay Area, including, Dosa, Circa, Cosmopolitan, Lingba, Oola, Pampas in Palo Alto, Sushi Groove, Home Restaurant, and 111 Minna. In 2007, Bright opened his ﬁrst restaurant, Local Kitchen and Wine Merchant in San Francisco, as a co-owner. The development of this location was exciting and revolutionary, combining a wine merchant, wine bar and restaurant. In addition to Bright's consulting business, he was also a sommelier with the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay, working in the restaurant Novia and the Ritz Carlton's wine program.

In 2008 Bright joined forces with his close friend Chef Joshua Skenes to open Saison Restaurant in the Mission district of San Francisco. Saison has since collected many awards in the restaurant industry including receiving a Michelin One Star rating in 2010 and earning its second star in 2011.

Education has also been a focus of Bright in the recent years, beginning with instructing Viticulture and Oenology at Stanford University and leading seminars and training sessions at major F&B events worldwide, especially Asia.

In 2009 Bright and business partner Kristopher Esqueda officially launched Markris Wine Group, which focuses on restaurant concept and development and wine education and production. Their ﬁrst wine bar, Vinyl, opened in January of 2011 in the NOPA district of San Francisco. The Markris Wine tasting room and education center on the famous Haight Street in San Francisco is slated for opening in April of 2011.

Following a path of many of the top wine professionals, Bright is now working with some of the best winemakers in California creating extremely small production wines under their guidance. Regions and grapes include: Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs, Santa Barbara Syrah and Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Bright is also the wine production manager for Markris Wines which include varietals including: Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Chardonnay, Gruner Veltliner, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Gamay, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel, and the list is growing.

Knowing that the best wine professionals in the industry are ones who know there is always more to learn, Bright continues his exploration and study of wine. His studies and travels have taken him throughout the wine regions of South America, Australia, South Africa, Europe, United States, China, and the sake breweries of Japan.

Awards

 * 2010 Gold Winner of Wine & Spirits Tasting Competition, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA)
 * 2005 Winner of Wine & Spirits Sommelier Poll