Bio
I was born in Sonoma County, CA and raised right in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Back when I was a kid, most of the Russian River Valley was devoted to apples. This was a holdover from the days of prohibition when most of the vineyards were pulled out in lieu of more profitable fruit. My family owned a 25 acre apple ranch about 4 miles north of Sebastopol. When I was a kid, there was a small shed on the property that still housed the old wine barrels my great grandfather used to make his own wine decades earlier. Surprisingly, the pungent aroma from the barrels still lingered in that room. That made an impression on me as a kid, I think because it was a sort of tangible connection to my family’s past and that always stuck with me.
As fate would have it, I got my first wine job at the age of 22 and spent several years as a tasting room host at Chateau St. Jean Winery in the Sonoma Valley. I eventually had opportunities to do private VIP tours and tastings at the winery which allowed me to meet fascinating people from all over the world.
While I wasn’t always employed by the wine industry in the years that followed, my interest in wine continued and I dabbled in it one way or another over the years. In 2000 I moved from northern California to Phoenix, AZ and then about a decade ago decided that I wanted to get back into wine full time. I’ve been working as a retail wine steward since then, doing the occasional private tasting along the way. In October of 2013, I took the exam to earn my certification through the Society of Wine Educators and am now a CSW or Certified Specialist of Wine.
As a wine steward I have learned that there is a world of people out there who have a sincere desire to know and understand wine but either think it’s just too complicated or they simply feel too intimidated to ask questions and learn. Let’s face it, there is a lot of wine snobbery out there so that feeling of intimidation is very understandable. I can assure you my approach to wine is uncomplicated. So you can relax and consider this a “wine snobbery free zone”. That's something I'm sincere about.
My mission is to de-mystify wine for people so they can feel comfortable ordering from any wine list or shopping in any wine shop. If they already have the fundamentals down and want to get a bit more in depth, we can do that as well. Basically, I’m like most people. I don’t drink $50 bottles of wine every night and I’m usually just looking for a great wine with solid value that I can feel good about pairing with a nice meal and sharing.
If you are interested in utilizing my services for either a private tasting or wine assistance, please drop me an email
letting me know how I can be of service and I'll get right back to you!