Our Team
Sébastien Gavillet
Sébastien Gavillet is a wine and whiskey expert and founder of Master Barrel.
Sébastien is a winemaker and distiller with more than 25 years of experience.
He is the COO of ‘’Wine Aromas-Le Nez du Vin’’, the world leader in coffee, wine, and whiskey sensory education as well as the Head of the tasting panel at the ‘’International Whisky Competition’’.
Sébastien was also a recurring judge at international wine competitions and is the Head of ‘’Winemaking & Spirit Creation’’ for Master Barrel.
As a wine and whiskey expert, Sébastien provides blending and production evaluation services, as well as branding and marketing guidance to wineries and distilleries. He oversees winery operations for several clients and has access to a large selection of wines from Europe and the USA.
He educates professionals and corporate clients through seminars and workshops and advises collectors on acquiring and maintaining their wines and spirits collections.
As a nose and palate for hire, Sébastien blends wines & spirits internationally and develops signature drinks and cocktails. He is also a book author and a master blender.
He is also read in more than 180 countries through his blog.
For more info please visit him on LinkedIn.
Kelly McAuliffe
Kelly Mcauliffe is a renowned American sommelier and wine expert.
Kelly is highly regarded amongst his peers as one of the best tasters. He started out his career in France working for none other than Michelin-starred Chef Alain Ducasse.
A career in the fashion world is what first brought Kelly to France some 28 years ago. Kelly then enrolled in the Université du Vin, in Suze La Rousse, and landed an apprenticeship with Alain Ducasse at his 3 Michelin star restaurant in Paris. Upon completion of his studies, Kelly was called to work for Chef Ducasse in his Bar & Boeuf restaurant in Monaco, and then Spoon in Paris. He then joined another Michelin-starred restaurant (Christian Etienne) in Avignon in 2000 as his Wine Director, giving him total control of all wine purchases for the restaurant. He also spent 3 years as the Wine Director at Chef Alain Ducasses’ Mix restaurant in Las Vegas and moved on to become the French Wine Specialist for Southern Wine & Spirits in Nevada.
Today, Kelly is one of the leading Rhône wine experts.
Kelly leads personalized wine tours to the finest wine areas in Provence and the Rhône, including Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueras, Côte Rotie, Condrieu, Hermitage, etc.
Since 2021, he’s now the French Wine Specialist for Master Barrel.