Growing up with one parent from Europe, my exposure to wine appreciation started young by most US standards. I formalized my education through the International Wine Guild in 2009 and shortly thereafter transititioned from the student to the teacher with a small local winery. I designed and taught introductory and pairing classes to a new generation of passionate novices.
My favorite domestic region is the Northern Willamette Valley. But, on a day-to-day basis, I'm a bargain hunter. I love finding good value wines, so lately I've been paying a lot of attention to Spain and Portugal.