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I'm just like you. I want to keep growing. I was always curious about wines but intimidated by them, and I didn't want to spin my wheels learning about them.

I love watching you become empowered as I did when I first started self-tasting several years ago (first under the mentorship of a Master Sommelier, thereafter under Masters of Wine teaching the WSET advanced program at Boston University). But it was that first year of self-education that taught me what I needed to appreciate wine, understand its language and be confident around any wine book or professional. I was awestruck by the power that came from doing it myself.

I'm 46 years old. Think of me as your big sister, your little sis, your mother or your daughter. I already feel that way about you.

Artistic Roots
My sister and I grew up with an artistic mother... a Fine Arts grad of Syracuse University in 1947 mom had a career in fashion illustration then became a nationally accredited Flower Show Judge while raising us.

Today my sister Pam is a theatrical design educator whose sets have been reproduced at venues including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; I indulge in Ikebana and interpretive table settings. At the time I was embarrassed to be the only girl in my fourth grade class who knew how to use a kenzan, coax a dogwood branch into submission and take color and composition into account when doing an arrangement for our dinner table. Other kids' bedroom shelves were filled with athletic trophies and 4-H awards... I had Blue Ribbons & Junior Achievement Awards for floral design. Yeesh. Hardly a popular choice of pastime.

This worked out well in the end though. From my age of 9 to 42 I learned a great deal from mom that I now share inside our Tasting Course to help you to retain what you learn. How?

Imagine contemplating red Burgundy for the first time, your glasses set atop a placemat of forest moss beside a napkin holder encrusted with dried mushrooms. You'll forever associate the region's reds with its earthy terroir.

You didn't need to read a word... the information was conveyed subliminally. Pretty powerful.

In fact, many groups repeat Level-1, something that is valuable indeed. The second time around they expand the experience by including themed music/table settings and/or add outside reading. The wines are different, of course, but the lessons are the same, and in the process palates are further honed & Level 1's key concepts and information get reinforced. I encourage this. Don't move on to Level-2 until you feel ready to.

Who am I?
I'm an educator by schooling, but that question is best answered by my own teachers and previous / present WS students enrolled in our program.

In Summary
Focusing on wine during my earliest self-study years heightened my senses--- and a renewed sense of wonder and appreciation spilled over into all areas of my life. My life changed.

I had to find a way to share this. This was an experience too enriching to not share.

Education / Philanthropy
WS USA created and sponsored an annual fundraiser for 3 consecutive years 2003-2005 to benefit the Voucher Program of the Boston Center for Adult Education.

In total over $60,000 was raised through "Educating the Senses." I asked the Center to use these funds specifically to benefit Boston's victims of domestic violence and those transitioning homelessness. No one is immune to struggle. Fortune can change on a dime. We all need help, and we must all help when able.

Continuing to chair this event past 2005 was not possible. The rapid growth of Wine Sisters USA takes all we can give her. Days are spent preparing for the inevitable, the moment WS USA floods mainstream America and is dubbed 'an overnight success'.

[Shhh. We'll not mention the decades of sleepless nights on my part, the countless hours spent by our passionate chefs and the thousands of classes successfully held by all of you.]