Tell us something special about yourself that would make someone unfamiliar with you want to travel with you on this river cruise?

I would say that I am a warm, friendly person, with an open spirit. I hope that this will encourage people to ask questions and create a fun, down-to-earth exchange of thoughts.

What was your “Aha Moment” when you fell in love with wine?

It’s difficult to say that I had one particular ‘aha moment’ with wine, as it was a ritualized part of my family’s special Sunday dinners and holiday gatherings, paired with amazing homemade food.

However, I can point to a moment when I first came to Walla Walla to attend Whitman College, when I realized just how fascinating wine could be. In 1995, Rusty Figgins (the first producer to found a winery dedicated to Syrah in Walla Walla valley), put together a brown bag tasting of Syrahs from northern and southern hemispheres. There were probably about 12 wines in the lineup. With wonderful wines from Australia, France, and up and down the West Coast, it was an incredibly compelling introduction to the varietal and a fantastic learning experience. Though I was really excited and impressed by the way the northwest wines in the tasting stood out, I also found the diversity of the Syrahs captivating. The tasting left me with a hunger to learn more about wine.

What is one thing you are most looking forward to on your river cruise?

I am really looking forward to meeting people and sharing stories in a beautiful environment rich with history. I’m also looking forward to doing this from the perspective of being on a boat, and the constant changing of dynamics that comes from moving though the landscape together. In addition, I am excited to see the vineyards there. Working with estate-grown fruit at Buty, I think it will be interesting to compare where they are in their growing cycle in April 2018, whatever it may bring.

What is something fun/unique you wish to share—perhaps something nobody knows until now?

I really enjoy seeing beauty in overlooked places and things. It’s not unusual for me to take a camera and go to a scrapyard.

In addition, I tend to have one foot firmly planted in the realm of wanderlust, and the other foot firmly planted in my rootedness to the land.

What is one of the most interesting places you have traveled to and why?

South Africa is one of the most interesting places I’ve traveled to. It’s a complicated place with a complicated history, but that’s part of why I found it so interesting. It’s a huge country, and its enormous diversity in terms of art, music, and language really blew me away. Not only do they grow wine there, but they have just about every terrain and type of body of water under the sun. It is a beautiful, intriguing place from every angle.

If you were stranded on a desert island, and could only have one bottle of wine, what would it be and why?

My first answer to this question would have to be Champagne, because I love wines that have high acidity and pair well with food, but also have body and depth of flavor. There are so many styles of Champagne, but I tend to prefer a richer style with flavors of brioche.

This said, it’s impossible for me to pick just one wine, so I would also have to say Riesling, especially in the context of this cruise, because of its captivating complexity and the myriad of ways it can be interpreted.