The Wino

To Cork or Not to Cork by Gillian Ballance Gillian Ballance, wine director for the PlumpJack Group, views the selection and enjoyment of wine in a manner entirely in keeping with the philosophy that inspired the original PlumpJack Wine Store: expertise without pretense, with an emphasis on the fun and…

I've been in the retail wine and spirits industry since 1972. I owned a well-regarded store in Tiburon called Marinwine and Spirits for 12 years. I'm now employed with the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant in the Ferry Building--perhaps you've heard of us. My focus…

Chris Wright is a native of San Francisco. He has been in the pursuit of all things beautiful for as long as he could remember, this is the very quality that has led him led him through an exciting career as a sommelier into his current position as the beverage…

Karletta Moniz, The Culinary Muse, is a San Francisco based chef, writer, and food consultant whose passion for chocolate has inspired the creation of her new website, The Art of Tasting Chocolate, and her chocolate tasting and pairing classes. Her client list includes Disney, Neiman-Marcus, Jamba Juice, ABC-TV, and more.…

The Margaret River From Surfing to Semillon–Why This Wine Region Has It All By Franck Moreau, Head Sommelier, Est., Sydney With more than 120 wine producers and around 80 winegrowers, Margaret River represents just 3% of Australian wine production. So what makes the Margaret River such a popular destination…

Russell Balch: “I started my career in the wine industry as a distributor merchandiser in chain retail to get my foot in the door. Eleven years later, I now work for a national supplier/producer here in the Bay Area representing some of the world’s finest domestic and imported…

Don Davis of Uncorked Events has always had an eye for a good party. Whether having half his high school over for a night of cheap beer while the parents were out of town, renting out a mansion in Chicago during college, or gathering 1,500 people for a Moroccan-themed…

Mauro Cirilli of Perbacco hails from Padova, Italy, where he was introduced to the joys of wine at an early age, when he would visit his grandfather's vineyard in the Colli Euganei and join in the process of making wine for their friends and family. Mauro received his…

Chris Deegan of NOPA says: my interest in wine began slowly while still in college, an occasional splurge on a 'nice' bottle of wine. I continued drinking wine, and attempting to learn a little, mostly passively, when I moved to Jackson, Wyoming-where I eventually procured my first restaurant…