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Meet The Curator

MEET THE CURATOR

Hey, I’m Italian! My parents were from Italy and I was born and raised in a true Italian Family in New Jersey with Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, and Cousins. The routine was simple consisting of family, friends, playing sports and religion. There was always food and wine (lots of wine) when growing up. Everything was homemade. Pasta, bread, and the veggies right from the farm. The Chalice, Dads wine glass as we referred to it, was passed around for us to taste. Wine making in the basement was an annual tradition and celebrated with a meal for the masses.

So, I would say this comes naturally to me and for the past twenty plus years in the wine industry I continue to find it fun and challenging. It is my hobby. The knowledge and the relationships with the winemakers/growers always provide me with the information I require to plan for the wines to be featured. The “results” are the selected Wine Gems featured in the quarterly shipments.

Do I like what I do? Yes, I do.
Do I take this process seriously? Yes, I do.

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MY CURATOR’S CREED…I am committed to taking care of our members with a dedicated approach to quality, knowledge and a sense of economic value.

Curator from Latin: meaning “to take care” is a content specialist.

The Curator’s Process:

Any winemaker will tell you, “It starts in the vineyard.”

Our five-phase approach is simple and straight forward to secure the 12 varietals we select per year: 3 varietals per quarter.

  1. AVA: Varietals are specific to certain climate conditions.
  2. Growers: Winemakers are specific when it comes to agriculture as well as farming practices to meet their varietal criteria. Knowing it all begins in the vineyard, I continue to ask the growers about their farming methods and which winemakers buy their grapes.
  3. Winemakers: We refer to them as “Wine Chefs” who creates a beautiful bottle of wine from quality farming methods.
  4. Assistant winemakers: The next generation. Often starting with small production levels and tutored by skilled wine making techniques.
  5. Varietal Selections: Identifying specific varietals for future releases.

Then “The Selection Process” begins…