John Ash, Fetzer Vineyards Culinary Director, is one of California's most influential chefs and a leading food and wine author. Throughout the 1980s, as Executive Chef at John Ash & Co. in Sonoma County, he nurtured a cuisine based on seasonal products from nearby Sonoma and Mendocino County growers and breeders. His steadfast support of local organic farmers stimulated the growth of many cottage industries that flourish today as suppliers to restaurants, specialty food shops and produce markets.

In 1990, Ash became Culinary Director of the famed Fetzer Food & Wine Center at Valley Oaks. He travels the globe for Fetzer Vineyards, teaching cooking classes, orchestrating wine and food events and preaching the enjoyment of ethically-grown, farm-fresh food, paired with Fetzer wines.

His first book, American Game Cooking, published in 1991 by Aris Books/Addison-Wesley, has been hailed as a breakthrough in its genre. From the Earth to the Table-John Ash's Wine Country Cuisine (Dutton/Signet), Ash's second book, was honored as the "Best American Cookbook" and "Cookbook of the Year" at the International Association of Culinary Professionals' Julia Child Cookbook Awards in 1996. He was a contributor to the newly revised Joy of Cooking, and is a food columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.