Our Story
We're a family restaurant started by multiple generations with years of extensive experience in some of the best restaurants in the world. Jessica Cahill was born in Florence, Italy but also grew up on her family's vineyard in Calistoga, California working in the fields alongside her father, Tom Colburn, from the time she was 6 years old. She always loved working with her dad in the vineyard as a child and still to this day she cherishes those core memories.
She became a Certified Sommelier in 2014 and worked in the restaurant industry for many years at fine dining establishments in San Diego, Napa, and San Francisco. Jessica also earned her CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine from Society of Wine Educators) in 2016, WSET Sake Specialist (Wine Spirits Education Trust) in January 2020 and WSET II in July 2020.
Jessica worked in a fine dining restaurant on the beach while earning her degree in Psychology from University of California San Diego (UCSD) . After graduation, Jessica moved to Florence, Italy and was Marketing Director for a jewelry store in beautiful Piazza Santa Croce in centro Firenze.
Upon returning to the States, Jessica got a job in the restaurant industry in San Francisco and Napa, this was supposed to be a temporary stint until finding another marketing and sales job. However, it was then that she realized that food and wine were her passion and decided to turn it into a career as well. She did just that and became Northern California Key Account Manager for Merryvale Vineyards (St. Helena, CA) and Starmont Winery, then to Area Manager of Northern California for Austin Hope Family Wines (Paso Robles, CA) and culminating as District Manager for Kobrand Wine and Spirits (family owned sales, marketing and importer of a distinguished portfolio)
When the Pandemic hit in 2020, Jessica was working remoting and relocated temporarily from San Francsico, CA to run her father's vineyard in Paso Robles, CA. Then a fateful meeting happened when Jessica came to Medford, OR to visit her sister, she met the love of her life. Carey Cahill swept Jessica off her feet and she rearranged her entire life seemingly overnight. She quit her dream job, bought a house and moved to Southern Oregon for love.
Edward Knight
You'll find Edward working at Decant nearly every night we're open. He's been with us since the beginning and has stepped into a role as sommelier and maître d' when Jessica is not on the floor.
Edward was born into a large family in Cincinnati, Ohio, where cherished memories were built around lively family gatherings filled with hearty food and warm social interactions. This upbringing naturally led him to work in restaurants as a teenager, drawn by their energetic yet familiar environments.
Seeking experiences beyond Ohio, Edward used his restaurant skills to travel across the United States. He worked in iconic national parks like Yellowstone and Yosemite, gaining fine dining experience in Wyoming, Alaska, Washington, and California. These years cemented his deep love for the outdoors—and it was during this time he met Vanessa, who would become his partner.
The couple moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Edward explored new passions. He began gardening as a hobby and launched an organic, hand-tool-based landscaping business. His interest in hospitality deepened through bartending and developing a love for old-world wines while working at a fine-dining Italian restaurant in Santa Cruz. It was also there that he discovered a passion for farming during a summer working on his first farm.
Seeking a sense of community and the opportunity to pursue farming, Edward and Vanessa relocated to Oregon’s Rogue Valley. There, Edward expanded his wine knowledge by working at the historic Jacksonville Inn, known for its extensive wine cellar, while completing a farming internship with the Rogue Farm Corps.
In 2021 when The Jacksonville Inn changed ownership, Edward embraced a new opportunity, joining the up-and-coming Medford restaurant, Decant. At the same time, he established Oak Mountain Farm, a regenerative vegetable farm dedicated to sustainable agriculture practices. Now entering its fourth growing season, the farm provides fresh, seasonal produce to the local community. You can learn more about Oak Mountain Farm and their mission here.
Today, Edward manages Front of House operations at Decant while continuing to nurture the growth and success of Oak Mountain Farm.
Our Values
We believe in living a clean, natural and organic lifestyle mirroring that of the old world, where people eat only local foods. Most of our ingredients are certified organic and we source from local farmers to promote sustainability. We want to showcase how fertile the Southern Oregon valley is and the amazing bounty available from local farmers.
We're excited to share our wine and food knowledge with Southern Oregon. We want to educate anyone willing to learn on wines of the world as well as how they compare to local wines. We will strive to constantly create new menu items and wine pairings.
