STAT BOX
Founder of an exclusive trade group called Wine Entre Femmes: comprised of women in wine in Napa + Bordeaux
Co-founder of: A Woman's Palate, a company that celebrates wines by women for women.
Mom of two sons and three fur babies
Lives in Napa Valley - but can also frequently find her at her 2nd home in Bordeaux
I fell in love with wine in Bordeaux when I was 20 years old, a time when I was obsessed with speaking French and living abroad. There to study French, Bordeaux brought me some of the most important things in life: an appreciation of fine food and wine, and a joie de vivre one gets from sharing those things with the people we love and cherish.
Most people have long lists of accolades that define their life’s successes. For me, it is quite the opposite — my successes have been a result of fortuitous introductions, dreaming big ( with the ability to make ideas happen), and a willingness to try new things. My love of food and wine directly stems from naive gumption, charm, and a desire to learn, all of which led me to my first wine experience at Haut Brion; then to living with France’s most famed cheese making family; and finally to a cooking internship under the wings of Amat, a famous 2 star chef in Bordeaux and my first fine culinary experience.
I have had the desire to be in the wine industry for decades, but getting to Napa Valley has been like taking windy back roads more than efficient toll roads. I spent many years working in executive positions in publishing (Managing Director of Miller Freedman’s International Division), advertising (President of an ad agency, Transphere), and technology (VP of Sales of Inktomi, an internet search engine start-up and consultant to Visa and Estamp). Luckily very successful in business, I was able to trade computers for vineyards.
Undoubtedly the hardest thing I have accomplished is graduating with honors from the Universite de Bordeaux’s famed D.U.A.D. program, a technical oenology diploma taught in French.
I now live in Napa Valley full time, yet frequent a second home in Bordeaux. I have two great sons who are my greatest love, 2 dogs, and 1 cat. While promoting RARECAT, my greatest passion has been empowering women through wine and supporting women in the wine industry. Several years ago I formed an exclusive trade group called Wine Entre Femmes, comprised of some of the most remarkable women in wine in Napa and Bordeaux, and co-founded A Woman’s Palate, a company that celebrates wines by women for women.
I am lucky; I am living my passion. Wine puts me in contact with amazing people and brings me endless laughter.
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Sharon will be our special guest and pouring her RARECAT wine at our ShePartakes event: Sugar + Spice at Oleana, Wednesday April 27th from 12:30 – 2:30 PM. Tickets are still available, RSVP Here!
