EXPERTS & SEMINARS

Interested in learning more about wine? We will have three different seminar sessions held during the weekend, featuring high-profile sommeliers and in-house presentations. Please see the Schedule for specific times and locations.

Michael McNeill First Master Sommelier in the State of Georgia Two-time national champion of the "Best Sommelier in America" Director of Wine Education at Quality Wine and Spirits Represented the U.S. in two world finals; at the Sopexa Gran Prix du Sommelier in Paris in 1994 which entitled McNeill to serve as President of the Jury for the U.S. competition that followed in 1997 and the Concours Mondial du Sommelier in Tokyo in 1995 Seminars: The Techniques of Blind Tasting and Old World vs. New World Frank Sinkwich Vice President of both Northeast Sales Distributing & Skyland Distributing in North Carolina Certified Wine Specialist of Wine and Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators since 2005 Certified Sommelier through Court of Master Sommeliers since 2005 Candidate in the arduous Masters of Wine program headquartered in London, England Seminar: De-mystifying Wine Learn how to taste wine like a pro, deconstruct and analyze a wine's various components, and explore every nuance of aroma, color and flavor in the glass! Michael A. Venezia, MA, CSW, CSS Corporate Director of Education, United Distributors Inc.. Adjunct Professor of Hospitality Administration, Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University Member of L'Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Degustateurs de la Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs Former co-chair of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) Atlanta Chapter Seminar: Hail A Cab  Step off the curb, hop into my cab, fasten your seat belt and enjoy the ride. Experience six examples of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc from global vineyard and famed terroirs of expression. Specific wines TBD. Jaamy Zarnegar Educated on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom Came to the United States in 1978 & graduated UNC - Greensboro in 1985 Worked for ARA Services at the Chancellors house at UNC - Greensboro Learned the world of wine at Southern Lights in Greensboro while working under Anne Steketee, the GM wine buyer Has been at Last Resort Grill since 1993 Seminar: Food and Wine Pairing (with Emily Garrison of Shiraz) Emily Garrison Owner and chief wine steward of Shiraz Fine Wine & Gourmet and has a national reputation as an authority on food and wine Brings over 20 years of wine and food experience by spending significant time in both the retail and wholesale wine industry as a restaurateur, distributor, and retail maven, and has been trusted to select the wine list for several restaurants Author of Wine101 in Southern Distinction Magazine and the blog Grapier Wit (http://shirazathens.blogspot.com/) and hosts a YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/shirazathensga) where she highlights gourmet food recipes and wine pairings. Teaches wine apprentice classes and boot camps, and her store has been honored with the Athens Banner Herald’s Reader’s Choice Award for Best Wine Selection Seminar: Food and Wine Pairing (with Jammy Zarnegar of The Las Resort)  Steve Waters 20--year veteran of the wine business in the San Francisco Bay Area. Starting out in Napa Valley, CA, Worked for St. Supéry Vineyards and Winery in Rutherford before deciding to focus on the abundance of outstanding wine retailers located in San Francisco. After cutting his teeth selling high end Bordeaux, Burgundy, and California wine for several years, hired by the pioneering French and Italian wine importer, Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant, based in Berkeley, CA. Steve has been with Kermit for 12 years and manages the retail store. Frequent contributor to the KLWM newsletter and blog. Traveled extensively throughout wine regions all over the world, especially in Europe, and has taught several wine appreciation classes and tasting seminars based on his experiences. Steve relishes the moment to sit down with his family for a great meal and delicious bottle of wine. Seminar: "A Selection of Fine Wines from Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant" Carolyn & Randall Abney When the Abneys moved to London, they were able to explore the wines of the commonwealth, such as New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa When the Abneys moved to Florence, Italy in 1999 they were able to visit wineries, go to tastings, go to Vin Italy and the Salon del Gusto and generally spend ALL their free time learning about, tasting, and acquiring wine Over an eight year period, Randall built a cellar of over 3,000 bottles of Italian wine. At the same time, Carolyn was writing about wine for The Florentine, Tuscany's only English newspaper; and seriously studying wine. She earned the Slow Food International Master of Wine certificate by taking classes taught ONLY at night and ONLY in Italian Seminar: Italian Wines The Italian region Friuli-Venezia-Giulia was the last region to become part of the Italian state as we know it, but wine has been produced there for millennia.Two grapes that are indigenous and that well-represent the region are the Malvasia and Refosco Karl Boegner Opened and managed Chateau Elan Winery as Executive Vice President. President of Hospitality Operators, Inc., which he has focused on since 1978 Served as senior Vice President of club and polo operations for the Polo Fields in Cumming, Georgia Coordinated The Atlanta International Wine Festival & Wine Summit competitions with more than 150 judges and 1,500 wines On the opening team of Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, where he opened the Golf Resort and Clubhouse and served as banquet supervisor at the Contemporary Hotel Seminar: Sparkling Wine (at Sunday's brunch)