Hello and welcome! My name is Michael and I’m excited to be here talking all things wine. I’ve always had a love for writing so this is a great expression for me to share my versatility and creative side. I had the wonderful opportunity to publish a bar/cocktail book titled “The Cocktail Revolution: Journey of a Liquid Chef” in 2020, which details my journey in the industry.
I am originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (South Central PA), but moved to Geneva, NY, in the heart of the Finger Lakes in 2019, to further my wine career. I completed my wine certifications and intense independent study so I was ready to hit the ground running. More about my qualifications and work experience on the homepage.
I have a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and worked in the counseling and social work field industry up until 2000. At that time, I was a stay-at-home dad and needed to find a part-time job where I could work nights and weekends. I found an ad in the local newspaper for a bartending school and thought this temporary career would work well. I realized that I was pretty good at this bartending and hospitality thing and I could do it as a permanent career.
Eventually bartending lead to wine work, bar management, consultation, teaching/instruction, and opening up my own business, Raise Your Spirits, Inc in 2012. This business ran till 2019 providing bar, cocktail, wine, event, and hospitality services to individuals, event venues, wedding venues, and companies. In 2019, I relocated to upstate NY to focus on wine. The rest is history!
My interests outside of wine are cats (I have 2 lovelies), traveling, learning about different cultures, shopping, pizza, fast cars, Pittsburgh sports, beauty, reading, book hoarding, good old-fashioned rock-n-roll music, and musical theater. I am partially fluent in French and love French culture.
I also moonlight as a freelance beauty consultant, MUA, and skincare consultant after spending time with Mary Kay, Sephora and Ulta Beauty over the years. I currently work as a brand ambassador for Urban Decay Cosmetics and IT Cosmetics.
My dream is to stock people’s wine cellars with exquisite and collectible wine and serve as their wine consultant and personal sommelier. Cheers to this wine relationship we are starting. Thank you for being here! Let’s have some fun ~ M