As told to Carey Jones
Images by Olive + West Photography
It was Italy that made me fall in love with wine. I went on my first trip to Italy when I was 9 years old and felt an immediate connection, even then. The first course I signed up for in college was Italian. Cornell has an incredible hospitality program, so I transferred into the School of Hotel Administration, majoring in beverage management, while continuing Italian. When I studied abroad in Bologna my junior year, it all clicked. I realized that wine was the way for me to learn about Italian culture, cuisine, and people. Wine was the way I got to know Italy.
Piedmont was the first place that truly drew me into its wine culture. I loved wines from Barolo and Barbaresco; in 2014, I called up every winery I could find a number for, and no one wanted me as a harvest intern. But I flew out anyway, and it turned out my Airbnb was also a winery! I got to know the family, and I begged them to let me work harvest—and they did, eventually. That’s where I first really understood winemaking and viticulture.
After graduation I worked for an Italian wine importer in San Francisco, which was a great start to my career. But one work trip I went on really changed my path: Mount Etna, in Sicily. It was my first time there, and I fell head over heels in love. It’s all volcanic terroir, and it has this energy to it—you taste it in the food, in the wine—everything is on steroids. I called my boss within 24 hours of arriving and gave my two weeks’ notice. I put all my stuff in a storage unit in Reno and moved there. While I worked the harvest, I lived in the back of a pizzeria-wine bar that was the local watering hole. I’d hang out at the wine bar every night, and meet all the producers coming in. It was an incredible experience to get to know the community that way.
I knew Aspen had an incredible wine community, and I’ve always been obsessed with the mountains, so when I came back to the states, I thought, What if I moved to Aspen to work at The Little Nell?
The Nell is what makes our wine community so strong. It attracts so much talent, and that talent is retained in our community. There is so much support for learning about wine. The sommelier team leads wine classes and blind tastings, and the wines they’d open at Element 47 were unreal. Being able to taste just a sip of, say, 1990 Le Pergole Torte—wines you couldn’t get access to otherwise—that’s how I really started tasting.
So many people who helped me on my path to becoming a master sommelier came through the Nell. Upon moving to Aspen, I sought out [local wine legend] Jay Fletcher, who became a mentor and good friend. Greg Van Wagner was also instrumental, as was Chris Dunaway, the wine director at The Little Nell. We’ve become close over the years as we’ve gone through the exams together. (Passing theory with him was one of the highlights of my career.) While I am happy to have earned my “red pin,” my favorite moments have been the times I’ve spent with this incredible group of people.
I took over the wine program at Casa Tua last winter. We’ve been doing weekly tastings for members; we did an old and rare Barolo dinner where we opened up bottles from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. Building out our wine list has been so exciting.
But I feel lucky that Aspen has an off-season. I spend that time in Italy. As soon as the restaurant closes, I usually head to Piedmont, and then Sicily as well.
Italy has an older population, and as people die, some traditions die with them. I wanted to help preserve Italy’s old-school winemaking traditions by sharing it with people back in the states, so in 2017, I started a company called Winomad Productions. We create short films about some of Italy’s lesser-known wine regions.
I also lead small wine tours in Aspen’s off-season. I’m taking three people to Sicily in the spring, and I have Piedmont planned in the fall. I love the intimate group size because you can really have a local’s experience. We offer insider knowledge on the best places to eat, based off real relationships with producers—experiences you can’t have any other way.
In Italy, they’re making wine in every single town, in every single part of the country. There’s so much to be explored, sometimes I feel like a wine pioneer. Being able to share those experiences—through the tours, through films, through the bottles of wine we serve at the restaurant—is what I hope to be able to do. It’s so incredible, I can’t just keep it to myself.