How did you get into wine?
I discovered wine at work. It’s not what you think. I was designing a sales incentive program for a large alcohol distributor. Every Friday at 3:00 pm the President rallied everyone for a happy hour. A bookcase in the conference room turned into a bar and we would test new products they were considering for distribution. One time we tried a few high-end Spanish wines. It was the first time I truly liked a wine. More importantly, it made me realize that there was an entire wine world out there that I needed to explore. Twenty years later, I’m still exploring.
Why did you start Wine Pivot?
The idea came to me at a tasting room. When I approached the tasting station, I was bombarded with facts and figures. The guy went on about appellations, topography and the multiple steps involved in fermentation. Personally, those details interested me but I noticed that most of the people in the room seemed turned off by the spiel. All that winemaking voodoo seemed irrelevant and intimidating. It dawned on me that people just want to try a few wines without committing to the entire bottle. Shouldn’t the wine tasting experience be better aligned to that goal? Wine Pivot is my way of helping normal people understand that they don’t have to become sommeliers to enjoy wine. Being a normmelier can be just as much fun.
What makes your blog different?
The fact that I’ve had a long and successful corporate career seems to interest people. They can’t understand why I would throw away all that experience and knowledge to write about wine. The answer is that I haven’t thrown it all out. I’m still a consultant trying to connect the dots and solve problems. I’ve just repurposed my tools to fix more interesting types of problems.
What about this project has challenged you the most?
English is not my first language. However, I feel that the wine culture I’m trying to write about is already deep-rooted in most Spanish speaking cultures. My grammar will never be perfect, but I’ve made peace with that fact because my blog is not about grammar. I have no wine industry experience or connections. Who will listen? It took me some time to realize that my credibility comes, precisely, from those limitations. I’m just a normal person, with an opinion, trying to make sense out of something that shouldn’t be complicated. In better words, I represent my own audience.
What are your credentials?
You can’t question the rules unless you understand them. With that in mind, I’ve spent a great deal of time and money to expand my technical wine knowledge. My goal is to educate and write about wine which is why I chose the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) path. So far, I’ve passed 3 levels (level 2 with distinction and level 3 theory with merit). I have one more level to complete (DipWSET) before going for Master of Wine (equivalent to Master Sommelier but on the education track). That is my end goal in this journey.
On the Human Resources Consulting side and less relevant to my wine credentials:
- 10 years as a Human Resources practitioner in three Fortune 500 organizations.
- 15+years as a successful Talent and Rewards Consultant in three of the largest consulting firms in the world.
- 5+years leading a national team of 20 senior multidisciplinary consultants and overseeing the placement of $100M+ in annual premiums for 75+ multinational clients.
What’s your favorite wine?
That’s a hard question to answer. I’ve traveled to 27 wine-producing countries and in every place, I’ve found a wine that I like. I guess my favorite wine would be one that I like for which I haven’t had to pay. Good wine for free, that’s my favorite kind of wine.