Pete and Karen have been long time residents of Tuolumne, California and met while working for the US Forest Service in 1992. Karen was in Human Resources and Pete was a Firefighter, The got married in 1998 after Pete landed his career job of working for the City of Tracy Fire Department and soon after was promoted to Fire Captain. After 28 years of service, Pete retired due to an injury. They built their home in East Sonora and in 2005 Karen retired for the USFS after 27 years. Karen followed her dream of opening La Petite Maison, a popular home & garden store in Jamestown, California. Her business flourished and was a great "first step" in business lessons. 

With the help of a few well-connected friends in the "wine scene", Pete and Karen decided to start a small wine label called "Inner Sanctum Cellars". Little did they know how popular the brand would become. In 2011 they decided to sell the home and garden business and move toward the wine business with singular focus. Applying the lessons they learned from their previous business, Pete and Karen's winery is currently thriving and has garnered nearly 200 awards for there Foothill Wines!