Note: I was very honored to receive Tom Wark’s glowing endorsement in his January 2019 post “A Talented New Voice in Wine Kicks it Into High Gear“.
Also, very humbled to be included in Ben Salisbury’s list of “rulebreakers” in the wine industry that are helping to herald in a new breed of wine nerd.
Wyckoff vineyards in the Yakima Valley.
One of my favorite pictures from my time as an intern for the Wine Production program at the Northwest Wine Academy.
I’m a geek who drinks and occasionally writes about what I’m drinking and geeking over.
This path of geekdom has led me to the Society of Wine Educators where I earned my Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) in 2008 and to the Northwest Wine Academy where I earned degrees in Wine Marketing & Sales and Wine Production from 2010-2012. This included a year as an intern in the wine production program under instructor Peter Bos (now retired) and at Robert Ramsay Cellars under winemaker Kristin Scheelar (now at Columbia Winery).
In 2014, I passed the Wine & Spirits Education Trust Level 3 exam with distinction and am currently working on the WSET Diploma. In many ways, this blog is a study tool for me so you will see frequent links to articles and books I’m reading. I’ll review wines but I’m not really about giving scores.
For several years, I toiled away on Wikipedia under the username of Agne27 where I created over 800 different wine articles (such as History of French wine and Yeast in Winemaking) and substantially rewrote several others like Malolactic Fermentation and Barolo.
In the industry, I’ve worked at restaurants, grocery stores, wineries and wine shops so I’ve been around a few blocks. But this is a personal blog with all the opinions presented being solely my own. For a little bit more about my story, and the biggest influence in my wine career, you can check out my post Jancis Robinson — The Beyoncé of Wine.
I’m also on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram–though those social media channels have different focuses apart from the blog.
You can reach me at amber@spitbucket.net