How long have you worked for Sokol Blosser?
3.5 years. My first day was on my birthday in 2019!
Favorite wine and why?
A peppery Syrah, a petrol-heavy dry Riesling, and an elegant Pinot are my favorite wines.
Where are you from?
I’m an Oregon native through and through! Born and raised within 20 miles of Sokol Blosser!
Coolest place you’ve enjoyed a glass of wine?
At Yarra Yerring Winery near Melbourne, Australia. It’s been around since 1973, makes some of the very best wine I’ve had, and has an exceptional female winemaker that I highly respect. Drinking Shiraz in the company of friends with lovely Australian accents, while watching kangaroos bounce around under the eucalyptus trees, made for a very memorable and “cool” experience.
Where is your favorite place to escape to in Oregon?
The Columbia Gorge! Can’t beat it!
What is your favorite season in Oregon and why?
Summertime! I love wearing shorts and drinking cold beer in the hot sun after a good hike. And being able to eat my daily salads with fresh veggies from the garden. And going on beautiful early morning sunrise runs. The list goes on!
How long have you worked for Sokol Blosser?
June 2022, 8 months and counting
Favorite wine and why?
I love wines from Mt. Etna on Sicily, Italy. The wines tend to be red fruit and minerality forward, earthy from the volcanic soil, and sometimes have this slightly salty/briny addition from ocean breeze. It pairs amazingly with most pasta dishes and well, just all Italian focus dishes which I love to make.
Where are you from?
Los Angeles, CA
Most desperate way you’ve opened a wine bottle?
Well, I will start off that it was a huge date fail. I brought a nice bottle of wine to go with a picnic on a second date in Sculpture Park in Seattle and forgot to pack a wine bottle opener. I quickly googled how to open a bottle with alternatives, found that you could use your shoe against a tree with the bottle in the opening. Nothing happened and I chipped a piece of my sole off. We did not have any wine that night.
Coolest place you’ve enjoyed a glass of wine?
Dario Cecchini’s restaurant Antica Macelleria Cecchini in Panzo, Italy. You are overlooking this small and beautiful town, drinking at one long table with complete strangers, surrounded by vineyards going on miles and miles as far as the eye can see.
Where is your favorite place to escape to in Oregon?
Mt. Bachelor/Bend, OR. Love the recreation activities nearby (ski, floating down the river, fishing, white river rafting), see live shows in the downtown area, eat at amazing restaurants in Bend.
What’s your favorite fun fact about wine?
Everyone’s palate is so different, and we all pick up on different characteristics of the wine. I like to have everyone write down at least one characteristic to see what they picked up. You should pair wines and food that taste best to you. There is no right or wrong.
