Jeff Slankard is the Wine and Beer Director at Barons Market, a chain of specialty food stores serving San Diego and Riverside counties in Southern California. With more than 30 years of experience in San Diego’s retail wine business, he brings extensive knowledge of wine buying, product selection, and consumer preferences.

Jeff’s career in wine began when he took a break from graduate school and started working in a wine shop. Trade tastings sparked his curiosity about wine’s complexity, leading him into buying roles across grocery chains and specialty markets. At Barons Market, he evaluates wines with close attention to presentation, quality relative to price, customer requests, and winery reputation.

An experienced competition judge, Jeff has served at the California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Central Coast Wine Competition, and Toast of the Coast Wine Competition. As a USA Wine Ratings judge, he brings a practical retail perspective, emphasising the relationship between quality and price alongside packaging’s role in attracting consumers.