Wine Business Experience

On a quest to increase his wine knowledge and to better serve the public, Dick became the fine wine buyer for a well-known Atlanta wine shop for many years. During this time, Dick travelled to California and throughout Europe to learn more extensively the wines and their producers. It was also during this tenure that Dick held many wine events such as a wine cruise, corporate wine functions, and various winemakers' dinners.

As a leading promoter of wine and wine education, Dick co-founded The Wine Report, a regional wine publication established to demystify wines and further educate the consumer.

Since 2005, as a wine consultant and developer of WinePromoters, Dick has continued his quest to promote wines through a Wine Passport Series offering consumers educational and entertaining wine seminars on France, Italy, Spain and Australia.

Additionally Dick was co-founder of the Atlanta Fine Wine Festival and Wine Coordinator for the Georgia Aquarium's "Aqua Vino". A member of the Society of Wine Educators, Dick is currently studying for his Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) degree.

Wine Travel Experience

The educational journey for the wine professional includes traveling to the wine regions, meeting with the principles, and tasting with the winemakers from barrel through bottle.

Below is a short list of some of the highlights contributing to Dick's on-the-job training the past twenty years:

• Bordeaux: Private tours, tastings, meeting with winemakers, private luncheons and dinners, at such renowned houses as Châteaux Pétrus, Cheval-Blanc, Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Palmer, Lynch-Bages, and Doisy-Védrine, plus the Bordeaux Primeur Grand Tasting in St. Emlion, Médoc, Graves and Sauterne.
• Champagne: Private tastings, luncheons, dinners, and stays at Veuve Cliquot, Taittinger, and Château Briquot.
• Burgundy: Private tours, vineyard tours, cellar tastings, luncheons with winemaker's family, hosted by Louis Jadot, and Jean-Marc Boillot, plus an intensive six-day tour with importer, tastings at four Burgundy producers per day.
• Tuscany: Overnight stays to accommodate tours, tastings, press luncheons, dinners at Tenuta di Cappezano, Monsanto, Rocca Della Macie, plus special component tasting with winemaker and luncheon with John and Christina Mariani at Castello di Banfi.
• West Coast U.S.A.: Multiple trips to major wine producers highlighted by overnight stays and private meetings, tastings, vineyard tours, luncheons and dinners.