Enotria

I fell in love with wine as a teenager, inspired in part by Thomas Jefferson's passion for it. “Good wine is a necessity of life for me,” he wrote, and it became that for me at a very young age.

During my undergraduate and graduate studies, I worked with numerous restaurants and caterers, which afforded me a strong wine education on a student budget. A stint at the renowned Inn at Little Washington in Virginia exposed me to some of the finest wines France and California had to offer.

Returning to school at the University of Virginia School of Law further ingrained in me the importance of value. My restaurant work during those years included a deep dive into Italian wines that has guided me ever since.

After law school, I chose to pursue wine rather than practice law and moved to San Antonio to run the wine department at Gabriel's Wine & Spirits. After five years, I transitioned to wholesale with Block Distributing, now Republic National Distributing Company.

I was later hired by Don's & Ben's, where I managed their wine program at the Seazars store in Alamo Heights. When they were acquired by Gabriel's, I moved to their 22,000-square-foot store at Blanco and 1604.

Just before the company filed Chapter 11 in January 2020, I was let go. I immediately began taking care of my clients through my friend's St. Tryphon Winery in Sisterdale. Four years and a quarter-million miles later, I realized I was burning out. I obtained my own license and secured a space five minutes from my home in Alamo Heights.

I initially planned to open as a wine bar, but a good friend pointed out that, even with help, I would have no life. Making that component a members-only club has given me the best of both worlds: daytime sales to the general public continue uninterrupted, while evenings and weekends feature a fun group of new friends sharing great wines in a cozy space—without my having to stay into the wee hours.

I hope you will soon reach out for your necessities of life.