Andrea Robinson (sommelier)

Andrea Robinson (or Andrea Immer-Robinson) is an American sommelier, chef, television personality, and author. She is one of thirty-two women Master Sommeliers in the world and was the first woman to be named by the Sommelier Society of America as the best sommelier in the United States, which occurred in 1997.[1][2][3] She has been the recipient of three James Beard Awards.[2]

Personal life and education

Andrea Immer was born and raised in Southern Indiana.[4] She has enjoyed cooking and food since she was a child. When she was in college she took a wine tasting class at a restaurant in Dallas, Texas. The class was a catalyst for Robinson, instigating her passion for wine.[2] She studied economics and finance and graduated with her economics degree from Southern Methodist University.[2][5] She worked for Morgan Stanley as an investment banker. She started to volunteer at a local wine shop, pouring wine. She took free classes and met wine industry people. Robinson did a wine tasting for Champagne Krug one day.[2] The next day she quit her job at Morgan Stanley to pursue a career in wine. After quitting, she traveled through Europe by train and foot in 1990, with the goal to learn more about wine.[2][6] She stayed for six months, staying in hostels. She would return and start working in the wine industry.[2] Robinson graduated from the International Culinary Center.[7] She would eventually become dean of wine studies at the institution.[7][8] Robinson lives in Napa Valley, California.[9] She is married and has two children.[10]

Career

After returning from Europe, Robinson started working in the wine department at the Windows on the World in New York, New York. She was mentored by Kevin Zraly. Eventually she became the first female celler master at the restaurant and she eventually earned her Master Sommeliers Diploma. She also competed in the World Championship of Sommeliers.[2] The earning of her diploma made her, at that time, one of eighteen women master sommeliers in the world.[3] She would become the Beverage Director and Cellarmaster of the Windows on the World.[7] She is also the former Corporate Director of Beverage Programs at Starwood Hotels.[11]

Since 2008, Robinson has served as the master sommelier for Delta Air Lines.[2] With Delta, Robinson is responsible for tasting approximately 2,000 California wines in order to select 30 wines for business class and first class passengers.[2][12] She tasted a selection of the 2,000 wines both on land and also while flying in an airplane to compare how altitude affects wine tasting.[13]

Robinson has provided consulting services for Marriott International, Target Corporation, Macy's and Hilton Worldwide. As a writer, she has written numerous books about wine appreciation. She has also contributed to include Health and Esquire.[7] Robinson also has a collection of wine glasses called "The One".[14] It took her three years to develop the stemware to her liking.[2] In 2006, Robinson partnered with the Wine Market Council to promote wines to go with American take out food.[15] Robinson has hosted two television shows, Simply Wine and Pairings with Andrea, both on the Fine Living Network.[7][13] She also teaches cooking classes and teaches online courses about wine.[5]

Awards and recognition

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Garlough, Bill. "Midwestern festival helps one enjoy wine's many flavors in thefall". The Sun. Retrieved 12 December 2012. (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pantovich, Milla. "Exclusive | Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson Talks Going From Wall Street to Wine". LuxeEpicure. JustLuxe. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  3. 1 2 Chen, Susannah. "Andrea Robinson on female sommeliers and the future of wine in America". Yum Sugar. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  4. ↑ Pierson, Dana Dyer. "Andrea Robinson Speaks at Huber Winery". Midwest Wine Press. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  5. 1 2 Nichols, Nancy. "Andrea Immer Robinson at Macy’s in Dallas". SideDish. D Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  6. ↑ Lee, Yishane. "Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson". Nutrition and weight loss. Runner's World. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Andrea Immer-Robinson". People and institutions. Calwineries. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Bergin, Mary. "Big breakfast to open food, wine show here". Lifestyle. The Capital Times. Retrieved 12 December 2012. (subscription required)
  9. ↑ Fedor, Liz. "It's a brand new day at NWA; Wine, food and fashion will characterize Delta's investment in its image for the merged carrier, as Northwest travelers will soon see". Business. Star Tribune. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  10. ↑ Snider, Mike (11 August 2005). "Andrea pours it on, dishes it up". TV (USA Today). Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Cervin, Michael. "Q&A with Andrea Robinson, One of the Country’s Leading Wine Educators". Into Wine. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  12. ↑ Weber, Harry (11 July 2011). "Delta's Sommelier Samples 2,000 Wines". Food (Huffington Post). Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  13. 1 2 "Wine at 30,000 feet". Currents. Cheers. Retrieved 12 December 2012. (subscription required)
  14. ↑ "The One Stemware by Andrea Robinson". Glass and Stemware. International Wine Accessories.
  15. ↑ Fisher, Mark. "Fries go with that shake, but what about with wine?". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 12 December 2012. (subscription required)
  16. ↑ "Robinson wins wine literary award". People. Wines & Vines. Retrieved 11 December 2012. (subscription required)

External links

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