Our story

Jessica Cahill

Owner & sommelier

Jessica was born in Florence, Italy, and grew up on her family's vineyard in Calistoga, California, working in the fields alongside her father, Tom Colburn, from the time she was six. She loved working with her dad in the vineyard, and she still cherishes those memories today.

She worked in a fine dining restaurant on the beach while earning her degree in Psychology from the University of California San Diego. After graduating she moved to Florence, where she was Marketing Director for a jewelry store on the Piazza Santa Croce in the centre of the city.

Back in the States, she took a restaurant job in San Francisco and Napa, meant only as a stopgap until the next marketing role came along. Instead, she realised food and wine were her passion and made them her career. She became a Certified Sommelier in 2014 and worked for many years at fine dining establishments in San Diego, Napa and San Francisco.

From there she moved into the wine trade: Northern California Key Account Manager for Merryvale Vineyards (St. Helena) and Starmont Winery, then Area Manager of Northern California for Austin Hope Family Wines (Paso Robles), and finally District Manager for Kobrand Wine and Spirits, a family-owned sales, marketing and import house with a distinguished portfolio.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Jessica was working remotely and temporarily left San Francisco to run her father's vineyard in Paso Robles. Then, on a trip to Medford to visit her sister, she met the love of her life, Carey Cahill. She rearranged her whole life almost overnight: she left her dream job, bought a house and moved to Southern Oregon for love. Decant is where all of that experience found its home.

• Certified Sommelier · 2014
• CSW, Society of Wine Educators · 2016
• WSET Sake Specialist · Jan 2020
• WSET II · Jul 2020

Chef Michael Bryant

Executive chef · culinary innovator · flavor explorer

Michael's story begins in rural Virginia, where a childhood surrounded by fresh farm ingredients and his French mother's passionate home cooking laid the foundation for a lifelong love of food. From hand-picked apples turned into pies the same day to learning how to choose the best seasonal produce, he grew up with a deep appreciation for honest, ingredient-driven cooking.

“It was my mom’s love for good food that inspired me to become a chef.”

He entered the restaurant world at fifteen as a pot washer and quickly worked his way through every station. By twenty he was Executive Chef at the landmark Claiborne's in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He went on to chef positions in Richmond at historic properties like the Linden Row Inn and Europa, a Mediterranean tapas and wine bar.

A career in the nation's top kitchens

In 2002 Michael joined James Beard Award winner Norman Van Aken at Norman's in Coral Gables, Florida. He was soon promoted to Executive Sous Chef and helped launch Norman's Los Angeles location as Chef de Cuisine.

He stayed in Los Angeles for more than a decade, cooking in some of the city's most celebrated restaurants and honing a globally inspired style with spices and ingredients from Indonesia, Cuba, Africa and beyond. His cooking bridges cultures, driven by bold flavor and soulful execution.

Today in Oregon

Now based in Ashland, Michael spent several years at The Winchester Inn and Alchemy Restaurant. Today he leads the kitchen at Decant, a farm-to-table venture committed to high quality organic ingredients, sustainability and seasonality.

“Our cuisine is modern contemporary with a soulful edge—a melting pot of global influences and a New American counterculture to nouvelle cuisine.”