M. Timothy Slater
Directeur Plénipotentiaire
A former scientist, engineer and prolific Silicon Valley inventor, Tim went into semi-retirement in 2001 and took up winemaking and winegrowing at Sarah’s Vineyard, on scenic Hecker Pass a few miles west of Gilroy, CA. Tim started ASF with the vision of an open space startup winery incubator, where a small group of talented winemakers could share expensive winemaking space and equipment, changing the paradigm of small, cramped, isolated garages that are the traditional home of suffering winemakers first starting out on their own. He has decades of familiarity with industrial manufacturing along with 25 years of hands-on experience in the winery and vineyard.
Jeffrey Fadness
General Manager / Winemaker
Jeff discovered a thirst for wine during a visit to Sonoma in 2001 but it took until 2008 for the passion to overwhelm common sense. That year he began working part-time at a winery and part-time on the UC Davis Certificate in Viticulture and Enology – while still working full-time at his last “real” profession on the financial side of video game producer Electronic Arts. By 2015 the commute to three “jobs” was killing him and it seemed the right time to strike out on a new adventure. He opened his own winery, “La Vie Dansante Wines” in Gilroy, CA. While on his own he created award-winning wines at several other local wineries and became a sought-after winemaker. When his good friend Tim called and asked about getting a hand with Atelier Des Savant Fous the synergy made it a simple decision and Jeff came on board, first as a consultant and then as General Manager in 2021.
Ruby Woodfin
Production Manager
Ruby Woodfin was born in North Carolina and raised in Upstate New York. She studied ceramics at her local college while she started her harvest internship at ASF in 2021. After spending a year working in the cellar she decided to leave the art world to enter winemaking as a career. She’s spent time working in the vineyards, several tasting rooms, and has now assumed the title of enologist here at ASF. You can find her in the cellar or checking on her gardens at ASF.
M. Savant Fou
Directeur Scientifique des Boissons
Our director of beverage science Monsieur Fou invests significant amounts of his time with intimate research into wines. A truly self-made madman, le scientifique M. Fou was literally conceived as a test tube, spent his formative years in the wine cellar as a small carboy, and has matured into the stately full-fledged demijohn we know him as today. His deeply scientific explorations generally contain a high degree of proof, as evidenced by his explosive temperament and fiery commentary. An international team of marketing experts spent grueling months crafting his image to adequately reflect the wide variety of personalities incorporated into his unique workshop, le Atelier des Savants Fous (The Mad Scientists Workshop).