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Dan Culley-Rapata, D.W.S., WSET-Certified Educator
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. Dan is taking a short reprieve from the Institute of Masters of Wine and will
continue next year. 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.
Catherine Seda, D.W.S., WSET-Certified
Finding herself grinning from ear to ear cleaning out wine tanks as she volunteered at wineries
back East, Catherine packed up and left New York City for Napa ten years ago. She worked at Cain Vineyard & Winery on
Spring Mountain before melding her prior publishing career with her love of wine at Karen MacNeil & Company.
Catherine co-authored an edition of the Wine Lovers Calendar with Ms. MacNeil whose book, The Wine Bible, is one of
the best-selling wine books in the U.S.
Catherine earned her WSET Diploma in 2010. She sits
on the Napa Valley Vintners and St Helena Star Tasting Panel and is a wine columnist for the Napa Valley Register and the
St Helena Star. Catherine has taught individual wine classes at Napa Valley College, JV Wine & Spirits, and is a new instructor
with Discover Wine & Spirits. She currently handles international wine accounts for Balzac Communications & Marketing
where she promotes regions such as Navarra, Rueda, Collio, Franciacorta and Chianti Classico. Catherine also travels each
year with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux U.S. Tour and every other year she visits her in-laws in France, taking that
opportunity to discover some of the country's diverse wine roads.
Douglas Allan, MBA, D.W.S.,
WSET-Certified Educator
A wine connoisseur at heart with extensive experience in sales
and marketing, Doug Allan aims
to make wine accessible, understandable and easier to consume. Doug is the Co-founder and Vice President of Sales for
Stacked Wines, a revolutionary wine packaging company which makes single serve wines. Before co-founding STACKED Wines,
Doug earned a Bachelor of Science from the Hotel School at Cornell University in 2003. He then moved on to earn his Master
of Business Administration from the Merage School of Business at University of California, Irvine, in 2011.
Prior to earning his Master’s degree, Doug worked at Chateau Montelena Winery in the Napa Valley where he managed
the retail sales & hospitality department. Doug earned his Diploma of Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education
Trust in 2009. He is a certified educator for the WSET and has been a professional wine instructor since 2005.
Michael Wangbickler, D.W.S., CWE, WSET-Certified
Before moving to wine country ten years ago, Michael
Wangbickler knew virtually nothing about wine. He did, however, have a passion and a drive to learn about it. Undaunted, he
threw himself into learning everything he could about wine and the wine business and now holds a Diploma in Wine & Spirits
(D.W.S.) from London-based Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and is a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). Mike has been a
judge for various wine competitions, and has taught WSET courses at Copia (now defunct), wine business classes at Napa Valley
College, as well as led seminars and panels on wine and the wine business for the Napa Valley Vintners Association, New Mexico
Vine & Wine Educational Conference, Drink Local Wine Conference, Wine Bloggers Conference, and Napa Youth Entrepreneur
Program.
Mike is the Executive Director of the Academy of Wine Communications and currently holds the position
of Senior Account Manager at Balzac Communications and Marketing in Napa, California. In addition, he also sits on the Board
of Directors for Drink Local Wine and the Board of Examiners for the Society of Wine Educators. He also serves on the Board
of Advisers for the social media intelligence company Cruvee.
In addition to his wine credentials, Mike holds a
B.A. in Marketing from Michigan State University. He resides with wife and son in Sonoma, California.
 R Christian Oggenfuss, D.W.S., AIWS
WSET-Certified
Hi I’m Christian Oggenfuss and I have been lucky enough to spend my entire life immersed in all things culinary
and vinous. I am a next generation wine consultant, marketer, and consumer brand-builder. I have had the fortune to indulge
these passions for the last 15 years as a wine marketer, educator, retailer, publisher, and as an emphatic direct-to-consumer
consultant to the California Wine Industry.
Since the young age of eight, when I started helping out at my families gourmet grocery, wine store and catering
business in Zurich, Switzerland, I have found myself surrounded by people who live not only to eat, but also to drink and
savor flavors from different cultures around the world. Oddly enough it was while working in film production that my passion
for all things epicurean was truly ignited. As a result I moved back to Switzerland to rejoin the family business and to take
advantage being able to travel to the wine producing regions of Tuscany, Burgundy, Alsace, Champagne, Rhone, Priorat and Piedmont,
all the while enjoying the best that the regions had to offer. I was inspired by the power food and wine has to bring people
together, inspired by the creative chefs and winemakers and their culinary combinations and pairings, and inspired by exploring
the world and its cultures through eating and drinking. There was no turning back.
I worked closely with my father building the wine and catering
side of the business and In 2002 I launched into the restaurant business when I opened a dual concept wine bar and retail
wine shop. My passion has always been working closely with those new to wine and wine lovers alike, educating them and helping
them on their journey of discovery. I am fortunate to have learned from, and formed relationships with, winemakers, Masters
of Wine, wine educators, sommeliers, and chefs, from around the world and I feel lucky to count so many talented professionals
as my dear friends. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than eating, drinking, and indulging with family and friends.
In 2007 started on a path to
gain a formal wine education and enrolled in The Wine & Spirits Educational Trust to study towards earning my Diploma
in Wine and Spirits, which I attained in 2009. I am now a 2nd year MW student in the Masters of Wine program with
the Institute of Masters of Wine in London. I am a card-carrying member of the Wine Century Club, a Certified Wine Location
Specialist, and an all around wine geek. Along the way I have been a marketer and brand builder for wine brands including;
Stags’ Leap Winery, Etude, Beringer Vineyards, V. Sattui Winery, Benziger Family Winery, PlumpJack Winery, and CADE
Estate Winery.
Linda Klink, MBA, D.W.S.,
WSET-Certified
Linda is a wine
enthusiast who combines love of wine with a true enjoyment of educating adults. Five years ago, her desire
for increased wine knowledge prompted her to start studying wine through the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust).
Once started, she became obsessed with studying wine and continued until she completed her Diploma in 2010.
She continues to explore the world of wine through several Bay Area tasting groups and by participating in a number
of industry-related activities. She has an extensive background in corporate
learning and development, and has led several corporate learning organizations. She focuses on building knowledge through
innovative learning techniques.
In addition
to her DWS, she holds an MBA from Pace University in New York as well as an M.S. and B.S. from Purdue University.
Michael Donohue, M.A., WSET-Certified, Bordeaux Wine Council Michael Donohue was born into a family of occasional beer, rye and Manischewitz drinkers
but was really bitten by the wine bug in university, when different red Côtes-du-Rhône prompted an ongoing
investigation of why one could taste so much better than another.
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 travelling to many of the world’s great vineyards. Michael 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. After getting whacked in the dot bomb era, he finally listened to those career consultants
who say you should do what you love and the money will follow.
Before joining GalanteVineyards, a youngish
winery with huge accomplishments and a rich future, Michael co-founded Ne Plus Ultra Agencies, which represents >50 international
wine and spirit producers and worked for two other companies with Chateaux Pétrus & Palmer, Grey Goose, Chave,
Shafer, Caymus & Avignonese (amongst others) in their portfolio. Michael Donohue may be reached at mdonohue123@hotmail.com.
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