Bios
Andrew Barrow (Editor) - Bio
There was a question doing the rounds awhile back; what do you do outside the food and drink field? For Andrew, the answer was very little. “Immersed” is a word that could be used (as are several others not quite so complementary!). As well as his own blogs — spittoon (which covers wine and drink) and spittoonextra (more food and photography orientated) and thefoodielist (food news, events and products) - he writes for several websites and is still amazed that people actually pay him for his writings! Photography is a passion, having had many photographs and travel articles published a few years ago. Now even that focus is on food and wine. Andrew is a WSET Diploma holder, member of the Circle of Wine Writers, has a geeky side, and now lives in a small market town in South Oxfordshire, just a stones throw from the River Thames.
Nika Boyce - Bio
Nika Boyce is a scientist, writer, food photographer, homeschooling mom of two, living in New England. She first drank Little Kings Cream Ale in college in New Orleans and has been a Guinness drinker ever since. While not likely to drink wine or beer with most meals, she is very interested in exploring novel beers and self-educating on wines. She does food photography and writes about food at her blog, Nika’s Culinaria, and is looking forward to writing about non-alcoholic beverages and her novice forays into the Spirit World.
Deb Crowley - Bio
I transplanted myself from the Cincinnati, Ohio area to Key West, Florida in 1999 with my husband and dog. I still make trips up north occasionally when I need to smell fall or catch a few flakes of snow.
I have not had a formal education in wine, but started drinking it seriously in the early l980’s. Like many others, I started with the good old standby back then, Boone’s Farm Apple Wine and some unknown label of Lambrusco. Eventually my pallet started screaming for something a little better and, thankfully having a new friend in the wine business, she pushed me along in the right direction. At the same time in my life, I started collecting cookbooks and expanding my knowledge of the culinary side of the world. My passion for wine and food seemed to explode. I would get the latest wine magazine and immediately head to the nearest wine store to make my selections for the week. Then I would pair up the wine that I purchased with the food I was preparing. My friends and family were “happy campers”, as they were the beneficiaries of my adventures.
Wine and food is still such an adventure for me and I enjoy sharing my findings with everyone. Lately I have been challenging myself with ideas like, how many good wines can I find for under $10 or I go on a search for the best sauvignon blanc I can find. Being in the tropical south for 8 years, I tend to favor white wines, due to the heat and humidity on the island. But, no matter what the temperature is outside, my husband is a red wine drinker. Therefore, our wine rack usually has a nice variety of wines to match whatever the chef (me!) has on the menu for the evening. I hope you enjoy the ups and downs of my adventures in the wine world and I look forward to hearing yours! Please stop by and visit me on my daily wine and food blog at Key West Wine and Garden. Cheers!
John Eddy - Bio
As the new guy, I stand in slight fear and trepidation at having to accurate summarize who I am in what is commonly known as a Bio, especially since I was more of a physics and chemistry geek.
So, a little bit about me. I’m diabetic who has discovered that he’s lucky enough not to have wine affect my blood sugar all that much. I’m snarky, punny, sarcastic and generally a little… odd. I like long walks along the beach and… oh, sorry, wrong bio.
I wear a utilikilt, pay no favorites to type of libations (tho I will tend to avoid white wines that aren’t dessert types), and try to live a green life along with the love of my heart.
Current hobbies: Entering (and losing) writing contests, playing Xbox and collecting gamerpoints, photography and job hunting.
Audrey Ference - Bio
Audrey is a writer and cocktail drinker living in Brooklyn. She enjoys cooking, eating, drinking, and writing about same on the internet and in print. Though her professional experience in a bar setting is limited to one summer as the day bartender at the Carlsbad Tavern in San Antonio, TX (note: this bar is neither close to Carlsbad Caverns nor owned by a person named Carlsbad,) please believe that this lack of experience behind the bar is made up for by time spent in front of it. Plus of course the nerdly research skills that an otherwise-useless liberal arts education provides.
Colleen Graham - bio
Let’s just say my life is never boring. By day my husband and I operate S&C Graham Foto Design, a commercial photography and advertising studio with an art gallery, by night I write about and pursue the art of making cocktails. Really, the two intertwine with each other constantly and both allow us to travel, explore, learn and be creative. It’s a winning combination and in my “free time” I volunteer for local community organizations to help plan a variety events and fundraisers, including art and music festivals, or spend the day with my husband kayaking whatever river we can find.
In 2006 I joined About.com as the Cocktails Guide. This gave me the opportunity to combine two of my passions on a bigger scale: writing and cocktails. I’ve always enjoyed creating and exploring drinks in the way many people enjoy cooking and I love to share those experiences with others. There are so many tastes and flavours out there that are just waiting for the right drink and something new and fascinating is always waiting around the corner. For me mixology is an endless and always interesting topic to focus on.
Frank Haddad and Susan M Boyce - Bio
Frank: It all started with a wine list. Or more appropriately, my futile attempt to impress a lady by reading the wine list in front of me.
At the time, I was almost a decade into my career as a greensman in the movie industry. We’re the people who work with plants and growing things to make a Vancouver beach in February look like the Hamptons in July, who make it snow in summer and turn a downtown alleyway into the eerie world of X-Files - But even after working with luminaries like Jim Henderson on The Muppet’s Christmas Carol, arranging exploding trucks and hurricanes for Superman to conquer on Smalleville, and creating a new vision of heaven and hell in The Snow Queen, I still couldn’t read a wine list. The lady in question wasn’t interested in a second date.
I knew I didn’t like over alcoholic, fruit-bomb wines with big tannins - although at the time, I probably couldn’t articulate what it was I didn’t like about them. Then I discovered the WSET - Wines and Spirits Education Trust.
Four years and many, many bottles of wine later, I’m about to commence studies toward my Diploma Advanced Level certification. I find I have developed a serious crush on Jancis Robinson and freely admit I wish Hugh Johnson was my dad and Michael Broadbent my uncle.
I love the crisp acidity of a Grand Cru Chablis, the rich petrol of a Alsace Riesling, and the smooth, voluptuous taste of a Condieu. And while I will probably never have the same passion for Barossa Cabs and Shirazes that Susan has, I believe there are few wine more romantic and seductive than a Masi Amarone sipped in front of a roaring fire on a cold, rainy evening.
Susan: My love affair with wine developed slowly - ploddingly some might say. I have thankfully vague memories of swilling wines marked simply “Red Wine” or “White Wine” out of a gallon jug at university parties and in the privacy of my first apartment. So city savvy, or so I thought.
But even then, something was missing. Being blessed with what some consider an annoyingly overactive sense of curiosity, I was delighted when a friend of a friend of an ex-boyfriend took me under his wing and introduced me to my first bottle of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. Alas, he soon vanished from my life - a career opportunity and fiancé in Northern British Columbia. But my passion - for wine - was awakened.
I’m still far less technical than Frank. To be honest, I seldom care what the percentage of old or new oak is, whether a wine has been fermented in a Classico style or not, and the numbers surrounding details like residual sugar and malolactic fermentation hold no fascination. I either like a wine or I don’t. If I really need more detail, it’s far simpler to consult my personal wine authority and besides, the answer usually entails a bit of real world research. Sometimes I can be a very slow learner. Amarone anyone?
Donavan Hall - Bio
Donavan Hall is a writer living on Long Island. He’s a veteran beer drinker, beer brewer, beer traveler, and beer podcaster. He writes about beer for Well Fed’s The Spirit World and other publications including A Good Beer Blog, Lenndevours, and his own blog, Catch & Release. You can listen to Donavan talk about his beer adventures on his beer themed podcast, Slow Brew. Donavan’s other passions include food, farming, literature, jazz, French film, and good coffee. His wife Denise contributes articles to Fit Fare.
Robert Hess - Bio
Robert Hess, a Director at Microsoft, traces his interest in cocktail to a childhood fascination of bartenders who effortlessly transformed the contents of the bottles around them into gleaming jewels of refreshment. Eventually he took action on these early memories, absorbing all he could about the classic art of mixology. Using his culinary training as a canvas, he views cocktails as a cuisine with the same artistic flavor potentials as that of any French chef. He has since become a ceaseless evangelist of quality cocktails, working with restaurants, bartenders, and consumers as well as creating the informative and widely recognized website DrinkBoy.com to increase recognition and respect for this undervalued art. He has also been working with other notable mixologists across the country to found The Museum of the American Cocktail with an exhibit in New Orleans (temporarily closed for obvious reasons), and soon to open up in New York and Las Vegas.
Tracey Ellen Kamens - Bio
Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., CSW, is Chief Education Officer of Grand Cru Classes and holds the Certified Specialist of Wine credential from the Society of Wine Educators. She serves as an adjunct faculty member at New York University and is a member of the American Wine Society. A candidate in the Wine & Spirits Education Trust’s Diploma of Wine & Spirits program, Tracy completed the WSET’s Intermediate and Advanced Certificate courses (both with distinction) in 2005. Tracy has also earned the International Bordeaux Instructor title from L’Ecole du Vin de Bordeaux. She received her Doctor of Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 and her B.S. degree from Cornell University.
Sonja Kassebaum - Bio
Sonja Kassebaum loves beverages, plain and simple. Always has, really. Although not professionally behind the stick, she is an avid home bartender and can often be found in her kitchen with various bar paraphernalia strewn about, or in a great cocktail bar enjoying a libation. Of course she dabbles in wine as well, especially as it plays into her cocktails.
Her reputation as a cocktail party queen has only been enhanced by her latest professional endeavor. She is the co-founder of North Shore Distillery, a boutique small-batch distillery based in Lake Bluff, Illinois. Prior to starting the distillery with her husband Derek, she was in human resources and practiced employment law at a large firm in Chicago. So far, Sonja has found that making spirits, drinking cocktails and writing about her adventures is more fun than practicing law. Sonja has her own blog called Thinking of Drinking and writes newsletters and web content for North Shore Distillery ).
Meade Kincke
So, I’m currently an expatriated Metairian, for those of you not in the know, Metairie is the suburb of New Orleans. Growing up in a city known for its booze but having parents that know next to nothing about it, led me to be a self taught mixologist. My favored libation is now a more known one: the Sazerac. I recall being drawn to it because it seemed that even in New Orleans, I never could find a consistent preparation for it. Some people prepared it with rye, some with bourbon, some with Peychaud’s and Angostura bitters, so on, and so forth. Thus began my research. Through finding the true recipe for this wondrous drink, I came across quite a few other amazing recipes. I was also intrigued by wine and beer, so I started making both of them at home during my college years. I currently reside in Fort Worth. Albeit, a bit miserably so, due to the lack of any good bars for me to tend. I will eventually become a D.O., which is why we moved to Fort Worth to begin with. Also, by “we,” I am referring to my wife and my dog. You’ll get to know my wife a bit more intimately being that she is a photographer and will be featured along side of my ramblings.
Melanie Mitzner - Bio
Melanie Mitzner is a freelance writer and novelist living in Greenport, NY. She is also a partner in a sustainable online store: http://www.thegroovymind.com/.
She is currently at work on her novel SEPTEMBER 10TH about a shell-shocked architect who disappears after 9/11. Her novel SLOW REVEAL was a finalist in the Heekin Foundation Fellowships. She received an Edward Albee Fellowship for her screenplay ZERO GRAVITY and was a finalist in the Writers Guild East Foundation Fellowships for her screenplay DODGE AND BURN. Her short fiction has been published in quarterlies, zines and anthologies. As a journalist, she has written articles for THE WINE SPECTATOR, HAMPTON COUNTRY, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, BROADCAST WEEK and MILLIMETER, among other publications.
Colin Smith - Bio
I’m Scottish, married to an American and live in South East England, Tunbridge Wells to be exact. We share our home and garden with one cat and three chickens, both our adult children having moved out of the family home soon after graduating from University. If you believe in stereotypes you’ll think that being a Scot I’m bound to be interested in drink. The answer is a resounding yes although my favourite is not malt whisky but wine. I’ve been interested in wine for a long time but it is only recently I’ve extended my knowledge by studying some of the WSET courses, my current challenge being the Diploma. And it’s amazing how much a little knowledge can improve your enjoyment of what you drink. Janet my wife was brought up in an Italian American household in New York so has been exposed since a very young age to all that is good about home cooked Italian cuisine.
As a result she is an amazing cook and we both eat well. My personal expands on my WSET Diploma and other wine experiences.
Stuart Williams - Bio
I have been living in the Sacramento area since 1995. Some of you in the wine world know that is dangerously close to some of the best wine the US (and even the world, depending on who you talk to) has to offer. While I do not spend all my weekends in Napa, I do live in the center of some great regional winery areas. I will be discussing and reviewing all of these areas in my posts. I am an IT Professional, which is a very broad description of what I do for my “real” job, but it does give me the flexibility to work on the laptop in the later hours of the day. I love to taste and review new wine for myself, so I figured that this would be a great match for me. My friends like to use me as their “un-official” bartender at their parties and I love to mix up a cocktail whenever I get the chance. I also love to cook up a good meal and pair it with my drink of choice. I am not your average wine reviewers, so you will find that I tend to make my reviews anything but traditional.
Thanks for reading and keep the dream alive.
