Short bio
I was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio. Played alto sax and percussion in a band and moved with them to Chicago where I discovered I was a better bartender than musician. Met my wife in Chicago and our daughter came along soon after. My wife attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville for undergrad and grad school while I waited tables and tended bar to pay the bills. After graduation my wife got a job offer from Exxon and so began our life in Houston. Upon arrival I immediately went back to school and got my degree from the Conrad Hilton College of Global Hospitality. Soon after I graduated, I began my wine career with Glazer’s.
Where have you lived?
Dayton, Ohio. Chicago Illinois. Asheville, North Carolina. Knoxville Tennessee. Houston, Texas.
First Car
1986 Red Honda Civic
How did you start in the wine business?
Glazer’s hired me in 2012 a few years before the merger with Southern.
Best concerts of your life
Oh boy, I could do this for a long time. Beastie Boys -Check Your Head Tour Bogart’s Cincinnati 1992, Lounge Lizards – House of Blues Chicago 1998, St. Vincent – Summer Fest Houston 2015, Run the Jewels – Day for Night Houston 2016, Queens of the Stone Age – Bayou Music Center Houston 2014, Thundercat – Warehouse Live Houston 2017. Ty Segall, Teregram Ballroom Los Angeles 2019.
After tasting wine all day I want to drink a…
Pilsner
After staring at a computer all day I want to drink a…
Champagne
What puts the biggest smiles on your face?Great music, spending time my wife Emily, my daughter Madeline and my dog Stanley Poochie.
Fantastic wine experience
Ridge Monte Bello barrel and vertical tasting with Paul Draper.
Last bottle of wine of wine you ever want to drink
I’d like to think I haven’t tried it yet.
While on the wine route I love to…
Eat where the locals eat.
Favorite vacation spot
Maui and Amsterdam are tied for first.
Favorite cheese
I’ve yet to meet a cheese I didn’t like.
Great food & wine pairing
Vintage Port and Stilton
If you won the lottery…
Build a music studio and travel a lot.
