
your personal wine ambassador
Heather Whitman
Bonjour à toi !!! My journey of wine has been interesting and ever evolving. It's far from being over! I discovered a love and passion for wine early on in my consulting career entertaining our clients and being exposed to different wines with friends. This passion lead me to taking a simple 4 week wine tasting class where I discovered I actually have a knack or as they say "a nose" for wine tasting. I was the only person in the class to identify a corked bottle of wine!
Fast forward to the 2008 market crash where I sat in my office on Wall Street miserable, I found a university in France that offered a MBA in Wine Marketing & Management called INSEEC. I received a brochure written only in French and filed it away. I wasn't ready to risk it yet! It only took me 4 years to realize I was ready to take the big leap of faith!
I was traveling in Chile and did a wine tour in the vineyards of the Maipo wine region. I had the most amazing experience talking to a wine producer in broken Spanish and through our guide about importing and exporting wines. It was so surreal and felt so natural. It was this moment that I knew I had to pursue something serious in wine. I applied to two MBA programs in France and ended up going to INSEEC, the original school I found. Next thing I knew, I was living in Paris and studying wine for 15 months! In addition to the amazing knowledge I gained at INSEEC, we also studied and sat for the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) Levels 2 & 3.
As life has it's own plan for you sometimes, I ended up staying in Europe for 4 years but ended up working in Fintech consulting again. I've just returned to the US in the fall of 2016 and moved to Los Angeles, which is a very new city for me. Through a work colleague, I got invited to a wine event in the area that held an auction for the local community to build a children's playground. At the auction, they offered a Boisset Wine tasting of 5 wines for up to 10 friends. I bid on it and won! It turned out to be my birthday party this past December. Thus, the next part of my journey in wine begins here....
I would love to be your wine ambassador to guide you through a tasting of some amazing wines or help you select some wine through our Wine Society Club! Contact me and I'll be happy to assist you!
Santé!!!
Heather
