When did you first become interested in wine?
I worked at a wine bar during college in the middle of Indiana. I had to really show I knew my stuff to a part of the staff, so I began to study it alongside my regular school work and became enraptured by the stories, history and amazing places that were explored. That turned into a passionate hobby. My first taste of wine was absolutely horrible! It tasted just like alcohol and stinging bitterness. It was a wine from a winery in Indiana that made wine from vinus lambrusca. It's actually the same wine my parents still drink to this day called "Soft Red". There was nothing soft about my first taste of it!

What brought you into the wine business?
At the beginning of my restaurant career I was always in dual roles. I would work in the kitchen on the line for two days a week, and work on the floor the rest of the days. This was a great way for me to be exposed to all the different aspects of a restaurant. After leaving one restaurant and going to Europe for the first time, everything kind of came together. Traveling to the different regions of France for the first time helped me to understand why there is such pride in keeping everything of a place distinguishable.

Do you have a favorite varietal or region?
I love Rieslings from Germany. I think that they are so enjoyable as wines to just quaff, or really sit down and take your time with.

If you don't order wine at a restaurant or bar, which beverage do you choose?
I usually choose a drink with rum. I am a big fan of aged dark rum. During the summer the most refreshing drink to me is dark rum and soda water with a healthy squeeze of lime!

What's your least favorite drink?
Vodka. It's just so boring!

What's your best wine-drinking memory? What was the occasion?
Swimming in the crystal clear water of a small fishing village in the south of France and smelling the burning rootstock being prepared for the annual sardinade, where they cook the fresh sardines over the roots and serve the fresh tart white wines from the village alongside. The connection to the sea, land and all things produced from them was almost overwhelming!!

In your opinion, which country, other than the U.S., makes the best wine? Why?
France. Perfect soil and a vast array of climates that show how diverse wines from one country can be. Think mineral-laden Alsatian Riesling compared to spicy rich reds from the Languedoc.

What are your thoughts on recent trends within the industry?
Second labels of famous producers are becoming somewhat like baseball card collecting. Everyone seems to be making wine in some far off place nowhere near where they are based. Some producers have up to 4 different labels in four different parts of the world!

What is the first thing someone learning about wine should know?
Don't take it too seriously. Wine is meant to be enjoyed with others and learning about it should be a fun experience.

What are some of your favorite food and wine pairings?
White truffles and mature Barolo. They really are the epitome of notion to drink the wine from the area of where the food you are eating is from.

Do you think any rules should be adhered to when pairing?
There are infinite combinations of food and wine and to even begin to make the attempt to add any sort of parameters would be futile. There are some things that obviously will not work as well together, but without experimentation you will never know unless you try the combinations that seem unlikely. So the only rule I would put on pairing is: Don't say it will not work before attempting. I have had some really strange pairings that worked beautifully.

What are some of the benefits of drinking wine?
There is a wine for every mood, every kind of weather and every day. I love how I can find a wine I want to drink to fit the mood I'm in on a warm sunny day, and have something completely different on a cold rainy day.

What wines should no home be without?
Bubbly, and lot's of it!! You never know what you may need to celebrate, or just celebrate every day. Nobody usually turns down a glass of bubbly.

Do you have any favorite wine gadgets? Are there any new ones on the market? If so, what are they and where can people get them?
A smelling kit my friend made for me. It's fun to break it out when you have people over and they say that they never can smell the things people talk about when tasting wine. It is filled with small bottles of different common wine aromas. It is a fun great way to get started.

Quick bottle chillers are some of the latest gadgets that I think are worth it in the right environment. They can take a room temperature bottle and chill it to 46 degrees in about 10 minutes! You can find them on Wine Enthusiast's website.

What are your 3 best tips, tricks or techniques for wine lovers?
1. Drink what you like, how you like it. Once you find the wine(s) you like, then you are well on your way to understanding your style.
2. The most inexpensive wine is not always the lesser quality. More often than not, whoever chose that wine for the list is passionate about it and maybe it's just a new wine that hasn't been abducted by the press yet.
3. Don't let people (sommeliers especially) tell you how to drink your wine. If you like your wine on ice or not, should be completely up to you.