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

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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 remained for six months, staying in hostels. She returned and started working in the wine industry.[2] Robinson graduated from the International Culinary Center.[7] She eventually became dean of wine studies at the institution.[7][8] Robinson lives in Napa Valley, California.[9] She is married and has three children, Lucas, Jesse, and Jack.[10]

Career

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After returning from Europe, Robinson started working in the wine department at the Windows on the World in New York City. She was mentored by Kevin Zraly. Eventually she became the first female cellar 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 was also the Corporate Director of Beverage Programs at Starwood.[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 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 Health and Esquire magazines.[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

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  • 2005 Wine Literary Award, Wine Appreciation Guild[16]

Further reading

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  • Robinson, Andrea. Andrea Immer Robinson's 2006 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone: Revised Edition. New York: Broadway (2005). ISBN 0767915461
  • Robinson, Andrea. Andrea Robinson's 2007 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. New York: Clarkson Potter (2007). ISBN 0767919858
  • Robinson, Andrea. Andrea Robinson's 2008 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. New York: JGR Productions (2007). ISBN 0977103226
  • Robinson, Andrea. Andrea Robinson's 2009 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. New York: JGR Productions (2009). ISBN 0977103242
  • Robinson, Andrea. Andrea Robinson's 2010 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. New York: JGR Productions (2009). ISBN 0977103250
  • Robinson, Andrea. Andrea Robinson's 2011 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. Santa Barbara: JGR Productions (2010). ISBN 0977103269
  • Robinson, Andrea. Great Wine Made Simple. New York: Broadway (2005). ISBN 0739466895
  • Robinson, Andrea. Great Wine Made Simple: Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier. New York: Clarkson Potter (2005). ISBN 0767904788

References

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  1. ^ Garlough, Bill. "Midwestern festival helps one enjoy wine's many flavors in thefall". The Sun. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2012. (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pantovich, Milla. "Exclusive | Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson Talks Going From Wall Street to Wine". LuxeEpicure. JustLuxe. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Chen, Susannah (June 17, 2011). "Andrea Robinson on female sommeliers and the future of wine in America". Yum Sugar. Archived from the original on June 20, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ Pierson, Dana Dyer. "Andrea Robinson Speaks at Huber Winery". Midwest Wine Press. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Nichols, Nancy. "Andrea Immer Robinson at Macy's in Dallas". SideDish. D Magazine. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  6. ^ Lee, Yishane. "Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson". Nutrition and weight loss. Runner's World. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Andrea Immer-Robinson". People and institutions. Calwineries. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  8. ^ Bergin, Mary. "Big breakfast to open food, wine show here". Lifestyle. The Capital Times. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 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. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Snider, Mike (August 11, 2005). "Andrea pours it on, dishes it up". TV. USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  11. ^ Cervin, Michael. "Q&A with Andrea Robinson, One of the Country's Leading Wine Educators". Into Wine. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  12. ^ Weber, Harry (July 11, 2011). "Delta's Sommelier Samples 2,000 Wines". Food. Huffington Post. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Wine at 30,000 feet". Currents. Cheers. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 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. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2012. (subscription required)
  16. ^ "Robinson wins wine literary award". People. Wines & Vines. Archived from the original on April 15, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2012. (subscription required)
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