Wildfires are devastating the American west, raging across California, Washington, and Oregon. As of this writing, thirty-six fires have burned through about a million acres of land, killing 27 people and draping a blanket of thick smoke over millions. The west coast and its wine producers are no strangers to wildfires.
There’s no reason to be intimidated by pairing wines with vegan meals, because the same general guidelines apply: fat, acidity, body, sweetness, tartness and flavor are all components of a dish that influence making the best match.
From Tuscany to Napa, autumn means it’s time for the grape harvest. By now, the harvest is underway—and in some places, it’s already finished. Old and new world growers and…
Julia Child opened our eyes to the wonders of Haute French Cuisine, and better yet, she taught us how to bring the magic of four-star restaurants into the comfort of…
Roasted Root Vegetables with Pomegranate Molasses Recipe Harvest season is fully in session, which means root vegetables abound! The sharp tang of pomegranate molasses is the perfect foil for earthy, slightly…
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Frank Shobe
CEO
Frank Shobe joined Golden Ram Imports in July 2015 as Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to joining GRI, Mr. Shobe began his career in the wine industry as financial controller with Winebow, Inc, in 1983. He held a variety of positions in the industry, ranging from Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Operating Officer while overseeing and participating in the growth and development of Winebow to what was then a $250M wine company.
Today with nearly 35 years of experience in marketing, sales, finance, operations, IT, and HR, he provides a guiding hand to Golden Ram Imports and Wine4Food.com.
Mr. Shobe earned his bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of Missouri in 1981 and CPA in 1987. He earned his Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia College in 2017.
Carole Mac
Executive Producer & Host
With over 15 years experience in the food and wine industry, Carole has created 11 web series and 125+ episodes featuring the world’s top chefs, sommeliers, and winemakers. She currently hosts and produces seven web series on Wine4Food.com.
She began her food and wine career by creating a culinary event company in Chicago offering private chef dinners, cooking classes, and wine pairings. After selling that company, she honed her journalism skills as a columnist for several publications including Edible Communities, and later became Editorial Director for the James Beard award-winning food journal Rosengarten Report.
Her film Oh My Rødgrød! was selected to appear in the New York City, Chicago, and Devour Food Film Festivals, and her Amazon bestselling children’s book The Gift of the Ladybug has raised over $25K for children with life-threatening illness.
Her educational background includes a BA in marketing with Academic All-American honors as Captain of Michigan State University’s gymnastics team, and an International MBA from Henley Business School in the United Kingdom. She has been featured on CNN.com, ABC, CBS, and NBC. Carole recently became a certified sommelier through the Sommelier Society of America. Watch her journey inside sommelier school on Wine4Food’s upcoming series Somm School Insider, and follow her daily food and wine adventures @carole.mac.
Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey
Ulrike is a freelance travel writer, guidebook author, and serial expat. When she’s not on the move, then she can be found in a bookstore, or people-watching on a café terrace. She has written for publications such as Nat Geo, BBC Travel, and CNTraveler, with favorite subjects including all things luxury travel, food, art, or anything quirky that peaks her interest.
Arianna Negri
Arianna Negri is the founder of Sunflower Creative Co., a San Diego-based food photography, styling, recipe creation, and food & wine copywriting agency. She studied marketing at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, where she had the opportunity to work with local farm-to-table restaurants and wineries along the Central Coast. When she isn’t cooking away in the kitchen, you can find Arianna at the newest Italian or sushi restaurant, spending time with her family in Monterey, or hiking with her boyfriend and rescue pup, Jules! To see more of Arianna’s work, check out her Instagram or visit sunflowercreativeco.com.
Rai Mincey
Rai Mincey is a Nashville-based food writer, photographer, and recipe developer. With roots in the Deep South, she focuses on fresh, hearty dishes that tell the story of their community. She is currently an associate editor at allrecipes.com, the largest community of home cooks in the world. Rai enjoys poetry, wine, and dancing in her free time. Visit her blog at theironsister.com or connect with @theironsister on Instagram.
Pat Friedman
For 30 years, Pat’s been a widely published travel/environmental writer, organic gardener, and explorer of hidden coves and mountain trails around New England. Born into her family’s New York deli, she started up and operated a large organic cafe’ & arts mecca, and in her spare time has been a head chef for her community’s soup kitchen (where she’s a.k.a. “The Singing Chef”) — transcending farmers market bounty into succulent, nutritious and memorable meals that just make people feel good.
Maddie Augustin
Maddie is a Minneapolis-based recipe developer and food photographer with a background in Food Engineering and Nutrition. Maddie utilizes her scientific understanding of food to create delicious recipes that are worth repeating. When she’s not experimenting in her kitchen, she’s exploring new cities around the world or fostering pups to help them adjust to the good life and find their forever homes! You can find more of Maddie’s work (and follow her cute fosters) on Instagram or maddieaugustin.com.
Samantha Sied
Samantha Sied is a freelance writer and event planner based in the Pacific Northwest. When she is not writing, she enjoys hiking, dancing, cooking and wine tasting. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter: @WordsBySamS or Instagram: @words.by.sam.
Samantha Sied is a freelance writer and event planner based in the Pacific Northwest. When she is not writing, she enjoys hiking, dancing, cooking and wine tasting. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter: @WordsBySamS or Instagram: @words.by.sam.
Lori Rice
Lori Rice is a food and beverage writer and photographer who splits her time between California’s Central Coast and the Bay Area. When she’s not imbibing to take full advantage of living near wine country, she can be found traveling to explore all things food and drink around the world. Her work has been published in CiderCraft Magazine, SIFT Magazine, Edible San Luis Obispo and on CraftBeer.com.
Peri Avari is a native of cosmopolitan Mumbai in western India, based in the SF Bay Area. She draws on the decades of skills and knowledge gained from working in the global professional food industry for two decades, from the Taj Hotels in India to owning a corporate catering business in Silicon Valley, CA. Peri is passionate about promoting Indian food for its simplicity, stunning flavors and health benefits through her blog Peri’s Spice Ladle, as well as cooking classes and online courses. She grew up eating Parsi food, a unique Indian regional cuisine that offers dishes with a Persian touch.
Clark Moore has worked in the restaurant business for over 23 years as a barman, sommelier, general manager, beverage director, and beverage consultant. He is also a published poet, and has taught English and poetry at three different colleges. He has an affinity for imperial stout, prodigious beards, and bold neckties.
Charlotte is a Master of Science candidate in Wine and Vineyard Sciences in Bordeaux, France. Her passion for wine developed thanks to a bartending gig at a little French wine bar in Washington, DC. Eventually, she quit her desk job to manage the wine bar full time. Hailing from Northern Vermont, she is fond of outdoor hockey rinks, local ski hills, and farm-to-table food and drink.
Lizzy Briskin is the chef, recipe developer, food writer and photographer behind Earthen Food Co. She’s on a mission to cultivate curiosity in the kitchen and help others enjoy food mindfully, without overthinking it. Follow her kitchen adventures on Instagram @lizzybriskin.
Saghar Setareh is an Iranian food photographer and writer and award-winning blogger who’s been living in Rome, Italy since 2007. She’s passionate about Iranian, middle eastern, mediterranean and Italian food. She regularly runs cooking classes and photography workshops, and contributes to websites and magazines as well. Currently Saghar is working on her debut cookbook that will be published by Murdoch Books in 2022. You find her at www.labnoon.com and @labnoon on Instagram and Twitter.
Carlos is a New York City-based writer who’s always on the hunt for his next story and his next glass of Vino! Follow all his adventures on Instagram @litoswaay.
German born Inka Piegsa-Quischotte is an ex attorney turned travel, food and lifestyle writer. She loves to eat and drink her way around the world and to write about it for several print and online publications, among them inflight magazines, culture trip and BBC/Travel. Currently living in Alicante/Spain she is in food and wine heaven.
Katy is a freelance food and travel writer who splits her time between her Minnesotan homeland and her new base in Omaha, Nebraska. Her passions include spending time at the lake, cooking, traveling, reading, brunching, and thrifting. Besides Wine4Food, she has contributed to Travel+Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, The New York Times, Eating Well, and more. Connect with Katy on instagram @katysjoyce
Taylor Tobin is a Brooklyn-based food, beverage, and lifestyle journalist with bylines at HuffPost, Insider, Wine Enthusiast, Observer, and Chilled Magazine, among others. When she isn’t eating, drinking, or writing, she enjoys riding her bike, hanging out with her dog Marty, and watching reality shows (the sillier, the better!). Twitter: @teetobes. Instagram: @tee_tobes
JenRose Smith is a freelance writer and award-winning guidebook author whose work explores travel, adventure and food. She’s currently living on the road, with a mountainous 2018 itinerary that goes from the Andes of South America to the foothills of the Spanish Pyrenees. Read more of her work at jenrosesmith.com.
Spencer Hochman is a Private Chef in Sonoma County, CA who recently moved to wine country after growing up and spending the formative years of his culinary career in various well-known kitchens in NYC. He developed his market drive Italian style during his four years at L’Artusi in the West Village. With a desire to be closer to what he feels is the gastronomic heartbeat of America, Spencer’s west coast move has allowed him to be an arm’s length from some of the best farmers, fishmongers, vintners, and artisan food purveyors in the world!
Allison Robicelli is a James Beard-nominated writer, cookbook author, humorist, chef/owner of the highly-acclaimed Robicelli’s Bakery, occasional TV personality, raconteur, wife, mother, and all-around good time.
Marisa D’Vari DipWSET is a Manhattan-based wine journalist, educator, and consultant with more than a dozen wine credentials (Certified Sommelier, CWE, etc). Follow her wine-region adventures on Instagram @winestory
Nandita Godbole is an Atlanta-based freelancing food writer and an indie author of several cookbooks, whose readers reside in more than 30-countries globally. She most often writes about two of her favorite things: simple, flavorful, and holistic Indian food, and about family: the joys and complexities of delicate personal relationships. In the past 15 years, through her work, she shares the diverse culinary riches of India to uncover and rediscover intricate and unique layers of culture and identity. Nandita grew up in Bombay, in the city before it became Mumbai, India, which makes her easily nostalgic. Somewhere between her memories of her old home, her new home and kitchen, and her musings, she plays the roles of mom, chauffeur, chief do-it-all-er, and the absentminded gardener.
Alexandra comes from a background in production that spans various hit television series like The Cleveland Show and Project Runway to websites including CNBC.com. Growing up around New York City, she was exposed to cuisines from all corners of the world. It was these experiences that inspired her insatiable love for travel and adventure. She now lives in California, where she is immersed in both wine country’s as well as Los Angeles’s food and beverage culture. Combining the yin of her media expertise with the yang of her epicurean appetite, her role at Wine4Food.com is the ultimate synthesis of her professional and personal worlds.
Lisa Morrow is a Sydney born sociologist, travel writer, and author of three books about her life and travels in Istanbul and Turkey. She currently splits her time between Istanbul and Lisbon and writes about food, wine, culture and travel for print magazines and websites. When Lisa isn’t writing she’s sampling as many different types of red wine as possible, trying to learn Portuguese and daydreaming about her next travel destination.
With his first sip in 2005, Timothy Sullivan fell in love with premium Japanese sake. This inspired him to start the first sake blog in the United States: UrbanSake.com. Since then, Timothy has received professional sake certifications from The Sake Education Council, The Sake School of America, the Sake Service Institute and the Wine & Spirits Education Trust.
He has gone on to become a respected educator, teaching the next generation of sake professionals for the Sake School of America, the WSET Sake certification programs as well as in private sake seminars. In October 2016, Timothy was the first person ever to receive a Cultural Activities Visa from the Japanese Government to study the art of sake making at Hakkaisan Sake Brewery in Niigata, Japan.
Rebecca Treon is a Denver-based freelance food, travel, and lifestyles writer who has written for publications like 5280, DiningOut, American Bungalow, Reign, Denver Hotel, The Coastal Table, the Huffington Post, Tasting Table, Food 52, Time Out, BBC Travel, Livability, The Cape Cod Travel Guide, Edible Cape Cod, Edible Denver, Edible Lower Alabama, Alabama Journey, The Denver Post, and DRAFT magazine. She is the proud mother of two tiny globetrotters.
Peter “Blue” Zusman is an artist and wine & spirits enthusiast living in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He places equal importance on both a finely-aged single malt and a medium bodied, earthy red. Summer is always about Provence. He was formerly a contributing wine writer at grapecollective.com.
Editor’s note: We are deeply saddened by Garima’s passing, and honored to have gotten the chance to work with her at Wine4Food.
Chef Garima, an investment-banker turned baker-chef was the founder & CEO of breakingbread.co , an events & catering company. She was an alumni of Le Cordon Bleu, Paris and has been featured as Top 15 in the television show MasterChef. Chef Garima was a culinary innovator who spoke at various institutions globally about smart and efficient ways to use food as an eradicator of health issues, poverty & induce employment.
An Alaskan-New Yorker, Raven Adrian is an adult with a propensity to play. She is driven by all things that inspire laughter and curiosity which brings her very naturally to a career in wine and hospitality. She is a Certified Sommelier (CMS) and has spent 18 years knee-deep in the restaurant industry of NYC. Raven is a currently part of the sales team at Golden Ram Imports. You can follow her on instagram @grapenutter.
Lynda Balslev is an award winning writer, recipe developer, and cookbook author currently based in the San Francisco Bay area. She studied cooking in Paris and remained in Europe for 16 years, while living in Switzerland, England, and Denmark, where she learned that the best way to immerse oneself in a new culture was at the kitchen table. When she is not writing about food and wine through the lens of the travel, she writes about travel and culture through the lens of food and wine. Either way, it’s a win-win, and she looks forward to her next trip.
Hannah Selinger’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Kitchn, RawStory.com, Edible Long Island, Edible East End, and numerous other regional and national publications. A Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, she writes the monthly wine column for the Southampton Press. Hannah lives with her husband, two sons, and two dogs in East Hampton, NY. Website: http://www.hannahselinger.net; Twitter: @hannahselinger; Instagram: @druishamericanprincess.
Christine Clark is a professional cheese and beverage nerd. Her work has appeared in VinePair, Fine Cooking, Travel + Leisure, and AFAR, and she has been featured in Bon Appetit, Complex, Epicurious, and the Huffington Post. She is a Certified Cheese Professional by the American Cheese Society. In her spare time, she plays with her dog and plans her next meal. Follow her latest eating adventures on Instagram @yourcheesefriend.
Katie Lockhart is a travel and food writer traveling full-time around Asia. She writes for National Geographic, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler and many more. Follow her adventures on Instagram at @findyourhappyplate.
Chef Rhadia is a classically trained private chef and recipe developer in NYC and the Hamptons. She frequently appears on local television making quick recipes for families. Chef Rhadia is also the President of the New York Women’s Culinary Alliance.
June Massell is a New York based journalist and strategic communications specialist. She was a four-time Emmy award winning national television news correspondent, investigative reporter and news & documentary producer. She reported for The Newshour on PBS, for ABC Network News (Nightline, World News Tonight, Good Morning America), and NBC in New York and Chicago. She also produced for the news and documentary divisions of CBS and NBC Network News and worked on 60 Minutes. She has a strategic communications consulting practice and helps institutions “tell their story”. With a passion for travel, story telling, and food, June is a freelance travel writer who has told stories from destinations all around the world.
Gowri Chandra is a journalist whose articles and recipes have been featured in Food & Wine, CN Traveler, Thrillist, Los Angeles Magazine, Tasting Table, Vice, and others. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter at @gowri_chandra.
Silvia Baldini is a former advertising art director and an Italian-born classically trained chef known for her work with popular Italian ingredients. She is a Chopped Champion on Food Network and the founder of The Secret Ingredient Girls and Strawberry & Sage. Following a distinguished and award-winning career as an Art Director on Madison Avenue, Silvia pursued culinary training at ICC in NYC and graduated first in class at Cordon Bleu in London.
Her work and recipes have been published in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Parents Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Thrillist, Country Magazine, Saveur, The Wall Street Journal and The Independent. Her TV appearances include CNN, ABC, and Dr. Oz. She is a frequent keynote speaker and industry panelist, sharing extensive experience in the food and media industry. Silvia believes that wholesome cooking and traditional wisdom combined with modern technology will be the key to living a happy and healthy life.
Adam Centamore is a writer and professional wine & cheese educator in the Boston area. His book, Tasting Wine & Cheese – An Insider’s Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing, was a finalist for the IACP Cookbook of the Year award. Adam conducts tasting events and seminars around the country and has written for Saveur Magazine, Culture Cheese Magazine, the Boston Globe, and other publications. When not working, he enjoys traveling to discover new ways to enjoy cuisine and culture. Adam loves to eat, drink & learn!
Lee Kalpakis is a recipe developer living in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in her family’s restaurant in the Hudson Valley and has since worked as a cook, host, producer, and writer in the food media world. She loves natural wine, summer produce, and rock and roll music.
Laura Harold is a writer, artist, and editor for Verywell.com’s Family, Mind, and Fit sites. A wine and food enthusiast, she is enjoying opportunities to record her bar and restaurant experiences through travel writing, where narrative and critique form a perfect marriage. A graduate of Fordham University with a bachelor of arts in English language and literature and a focus on fiction, Laura currently resides in the capital of good food in NYC: Queens.
Frank Shobe joined Golden Ram Imports in July 2015 as Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to joining GRI, Mr. Shobe began his career in the wine industry as financial controller with Winebow, Inc, in 1983. He held a variety of positions in the industry, ranging from Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Operating Officer while overseeing and participating in the growth and development of Winebow to what was then a $250M wine company.
Today with nearly 35 years of experience in marketing, sales, finance, operations, IT, and HR, he provides a guiding hand to Golden Ram Imports and Wine4Food.com.
Mr. Shobe earned his bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of Missouri in 1981 and CPA in 1987. He will earn his Master’s in Business Administration from Columbia College in 2017.