I began my involvement with our industry in South Carolina in 2004 at the Charleston Grill. I started by restocking wines in their bins before service, and became close with the Wine Director, Rick Rubel, who was instrumental in both my growing love for wine and knowing the business behind it. I was then offered the chance to take classes with the Court of Master Sommeliers, and in 2007 I became certified. In 2010, after leaving South Carolina, I moved back home to Minneapolis with the aim to spend a little time back home and move out to the east coast. Things didn’t work out that way as I met my wife Louisa in the first few months and decided to stay here and get back into restaurants. I then found myself at Butcher and the Boar in the role of Dining Room Manager; after getting to work closely with Jack Riebel, I departed soon after he did to work with Kim Bartmann as the GM of The Third Bird. My stint with Kim was cut short by surgery that required me to stay off my feet for three months (a bit hard to do while running a restaurant), I took some time off to regroup and went back to work with Jack Riebel again a couple of months later, this time opening the short lived, but beautifully done Il Foro. After a year at Fulton Brewing, I was asked to interview with Rootstock Wine Co, and worked there for years until making the move to my home at New France Wine Company. I am a rabid Manchester United fan, have played the drums for almost 30 years, and have been sober for a little over five.