The Team

Board of Directors

Aengus Wagner - President

Born and raised in Big Sur, Aengus Wagner spent his adolescence in Marin where he learned to help organize events and found his love of running in the hills above San Anselmo. When he moved to Santa Barbara, as captain of his Ultimate Frisbee team, the Santa Barbara Condors, he helped run tournaments and build a team that was competitive Nationally. When the opportunity to return home presented itself, he moved back to Big Sur and began working at the famed Nepenthe Restaurant where he has worked for 30 years and is now the Wine & Service Director.

Aengus continued to involve himself in various projects. He joined the team at the Central Coast Wine Classic in the late nineties which gave him a deeper appreciation of his own hospitality skills. It also helped him to build relationships with some of the most iconic winemakers in California and beyond. In 1996 he was one of the founding members of the Big Sur Jazzfest which was the foundation for the idea of our Big Sur Food and Wine festival. In 2000 his passion in the wine world was confirmed when he met his muses, the educator Karen MacNeil and the farmer and winemaker, Gary Pisoni. As an active Big Sur community member, he is a driving force with fundraising for Relay for Rachael, the captain of the Outlaws (yes, we have a softball league) and was once Monterey County’s first finisher in the Big Sur International Marathon.

By becoming a non profit organization in 2016, Big Sur Food and Wine, has built great momentum in fundraising for this community that seems to be challenged yearly by fire and flood. He is immensely inspired by el grande del sur, the big land to the south, and cherishes the opportunity BSFW gives him]to share this love with the family of guests, winemakers, chefs and volunteers who make up the mosaic that is our BSFW festival.

Elsa Rivera - CFO

Elsa Rivera is the Festival’s CFO of The Big Sur Food & Wine Foundation. She puts her heart into community service, events and other fun projects. Her networking brings out the best in people who truly want to champion their passion, vision and creativity. 

Elsa is the Executive Director of The Big Fashion Show, the Blue Water Project Director for G.I. Josie, surf mentor for Groundswell Community Project and a founding collaborator in The Big Share for Big Sur. She is a Rotarian and was voted one of ten Outstanding Women of 2017 by the Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women, recognized for her work in helping the Big Sur and Palo Colorado communities during the Soberanes Fire.

Her love of the Big Sur community as extended family, her passion for dance, the arts, and great food and wine, inspires her to be a connecting force for the Big Sur Food & Wine Festival and all of the Foundation’s projects.

Matt Peterson - Vice President & Wine Director

Born into a household of food and wine professionals, Matt learned early on the importance of hospitality, great cuisine and the wines that accompany. He joined the wine industry almost as soon as he was eligible in age, starting out in wine distribution where he still resides today.

Currently representing portfolios of some of the finest imports and domestic wines on the market, from companies like Swirl Wine Brokers and Wine Wise. Additionally, he's a sommelier at Sierra Mar at Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, and works as a consultant for a few local wine programs. Through the years, he worked as a veteran sommelier at Pebble Beach Food & Wine, The Central Coast Wine Classic and later, The Gourmet Fest. Matt's education and inspiration are what encouraged him to partner in the first days of Big Sur Food and Wine.

BSFW continues to hold a huge part of his heart, and finding a way to use his talents in the wine trade to be a better contributing partner is this small community is one of his proudest accomplishments. Additionally, Matt’s daughter Athena is now a second generation contributor in BSF&W, starting a small legacy in a great little organization.

Committee