|
 |
| |
Dan Culley-Rapata, D.W.S.,
FWS
Dan Culley-Rapata
has spent the last ten years working in the wine industry in San Francisco, where he has had the opportunity to work with
many amazing producers and restaurants at the epicenter of the American wine scene.
Dan began his career at Chicago Wine Merchants, where
he played a role in selling Champagne and fine wine at the turn of the Millennium. In 2000, he took a position with San Francisco-based
Chambers & Chambers Wine Merchants, one of the country’s most respected importers and distributors of fine wine.
Dan’s current position as a sales representative for Chambers & Chambers has given him the chance to educate customers
about some of the world’s greatest wines and travel through the wine regions of France, Italy and the US.
In 2006, Dan passed the
WSET Advanced course with distinction. He earned his WSET Diploma in 2008, graduating with merit. He is also a
certified French Wine Scholar through the French Wine Society. Dan is currently a second year student with the Institute
of Masters of Wine. He was also a judge at the California State Fair Wine Competition in 2009. Every fall,
he enjoys working as a harvest intern at York Creek Vineyards. If you have any questions, please feel free to email Dan at
culleyrapata@gmail.com.
Michelle Keene, M.A. Michelle Keene is an Italian wine educator and broker in the San Francisco
Bay where she represents a boutique line of Italian wines for WineCountry.IT and offers wine seminars and private tastings
through her business venture TerraVino Tastings. She has worked with the Italian Cultural Institute, Business Association
Italy America, and has held some of San Francisco’s top-drawer Italian restaurants, such as A16, SPQR, and La Ciccia
as clients. Her experience has provided her the opportunity to educate consumers and teach courses about Italy’s varietals
and world leading wine industry, and work with producers, across Italy’s diverse wine regions.
Previously
a World Bank consultant and executive with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Michelle has a long-standing interest
and passion for Italy and its wines. Her credentials include passing
the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Advanced course with distinction
and professional wine studies at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena. Her prior education includes a B.A.
from Bowdoin College and a M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. Her mantra is “to
bring Italian terroir to the table,” sharing her years of La Dolce Vino in Italy to bring you the entire Italian wine
experience. Michelle may be reached at info@terravinotastings.com.
Douglas Allan, D.W.S.
Douglas Allan has spent his whole career
in the food and beverage industry. His formal education in wine started at Cornell University where he earned a B.S.
in Hotel Administration. After spending a few years in restaurant operations in Los Angeles, he immersed himself into
the wine business at Chateau Montelena Winery in Napa Valley. For the past three years, Douglas worked as the Retail
Sales & Hospitality Manager. This allowed Douglas to learn the wine business from the ground up and also offered
him a chance to teach thousands of people about wine on a daily basis. Douglas has been involved with the WSET for the
past five years. He earned his Diploma of Wine & Spirits in 2010. Douglas is currently a full time student at the Paul
Merage School of Business at UC Irvine with the intention of bringing his MBA back to the wine business. 
Michael Donohue, FWS
Following graduation with a Master of Arts in Philosophy, Michael worked in retail operations
and then in high-tech (from 300 bps to ATM) all the while taking various wine courses, including the WSET Diploma*, and traveling
to many of the worlds great vineyards. After getting whacked in the dot
bomb era, Michael finally listened to those career consultants who say you should do what you love and the money will follow.
He has been teaching WSET courses for about 18 years and for the past decade
was a Director of the Independent Wine Education Guild www.iweg.org, a WSET affiliate since 1977. Michael has just been certified
a French Wine Scholar through the French Wine Society. He is also part of the Bordeaux Wine Council.
Before joining
Galante Vineyards, a youngish winery with huge accomplishments and a rich future, Michael Donohue co-founded Ne Plus Ultra
Agencies, which represents less than 50 international wine and spirit producers and worked for two other companies with Chateaux
Petrus and Palmer, Grey Goose, Chave, Shafer, Caymus, Avignonese (amongst others) in their portfolios. Any questions you may
have, please do not hesitate to contact him at mdonohue123@hotmail.com.
James King, D.W.S., FWS
I started in the wine industry after graduating from Edinburgh University in 1994 and
went straight into the influential London Wine retail scene and passed the W.S.E.T. Diploma in 1996. I then headed to the
Hunter Valley, Australia to get an education in the supply side by working in a winery. This then allowed me to firstly become
a wine rep for the large New Zealand organization, Montana wines and then secondly work on their corporate entertainment and
education program. Landing in the USA I started my own business and
joined the highly respected retailer, the Wine House in Los Angeles. It was for them in 2007 that I started the W.S.E.T. program,
becoming the sole educator, at the Intermediate, Spirits and Advanced level and teaching over 200 students. I am currently
overseeing the expansion of the W.S.E.T. for the Wine House in San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, the Desert and Santa Barbara.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at jking@winehouse.com.
|
|
|
