I've been passionate about wine since a trip to Italy several years ago. This moment can be traced to a rustic wine bar in a back alley in Rome's amazing Campo dei Fiori district. At this bar, a sommelier in training spoke about the amazingly beautiful combination of science and art that is winemaking. I could feel the sommelier's passion about the mysterious stuff in the glass in front of me, and while talking and drinking over this amazing wine, something sparked. I resolved to study and learn as much as I could about wine, and started a wine tasting club with my wife to taste wines and enjoy them with friends, looking to recreate that special moment in Italy.

Then about three years ago, I realized that my masters degree in Social Work and career as a psychotherapist just weren't quite right from me. So I quit my job and began taking classes. I breezed through the intermediate and advanced intensive classes at the WSET (Wine & Spirit Educational Trust) acredited International Wine Center in two short weeks. I then began working at a fantastic retail store in Tribeca, Frankly Wines, and soon thereafter, this business, to share my knowledge of wine with others.

After working in wine in New York City for a year, I jumped on an opportunity to come live in France, the land of fine wines. When I first got here I spent two weeks working the harvest in Beaujolais, and now I'm currently living in Paris, and working at La Cave Arômes,  managing a cellar of 30,000 bottles in all vintages,  shapes and sizes.

While working in retail, I've discovered a few things about wine. One is that wine and wine classes are incredibly complicated, and involve a ton of memorization! If you want to work in wine or are determined to know everything like me, this is great. But if you're just interested in knowing what you like and how to order it at store or restaurant, you don't really need to know all that stuff! It occurred to me that there is a simpler way to go about this, and it's all about sitting down with people and giving them direct feedback on what they're tasting. That's the best way to learn.