• Guild Events Blog: Mariani Italian Enrichment Program



    William Moss, Wine Director at Osteria del Circo / Le Cirque, Bellagio Resort, Las Vegas 
    and one of five Mariani Italian Enrichment program scholarship recipients, 
    shares his journal of a November 2008 trip to Tuscany


            Our journey to Italy organized by the Guild of Sommeliers Education Foundation and hosted by the Mariani Family of Castello Banfi started by meeting at JFK Airport with our travel mates Amanda Marsha…
  • Larry O'Brien: A Wine Tour of South Africa Part 1: The Nuts and Bolts

    I wish I could time travel with knowledge of the current economic environment and recently attained knowledge of South African wine.  I would return to 2004 with a solid business plan, assemble a pile of venture capital and form a importing company focused on South African (SA) wine.  I would also need a massive injection of entrepreneurial courage as I was born without that gene.

    South African wine has struggled to achieve…

  • Brian's Blog: The Beginning of My Greek Wine Love

     
    Though I would not call this a traditional blog, or quick little essay, I wanted to share the trip that began my great love for the wines of Greece.
     
    When most people think of Greece, they think of arid, olive tree-laden pastures that are surrounded by ruins of a time that has long since past. They think of the Olympics, and of a proud, learned people that helped to guide the science and arts for the rest of the world…