Having once dreamed of becoming a trapeze artist, Kate has a knack for thinking expansively and following her passion.
While studying medical anthropology in graduate school, Kate found herself on a plane to the 'Land Down Under' to work with healing plants in their cultural context. Little did she know she was mistakenly bound for a sister school of winemaking and viticulture, which would determine the course of her gypsy drift thereafter.
For four years in Australia, Kate studied, drank and made wine but craved more, wanting to explore wine beyond the vineyards. Upon returning to the US, she landed in NYC, joined Best Cellars, and took classes to refine her palate. After working as General Manager and Wine Director for Best Cellars as a retailer in New York and Boston, Kate tried her hand at wholesaling with T. Edward Wines, representing a global portfolio of boutique wines with Manhattan's top retail and restaurant accounts. Kate's eventually settled at Oriel, fulfilling her need for connection to wine's roots, while allowing her to continue to explore the different facets of the wine industry through a new and innovative wine concept and business model as a vintner.
Kate holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky, Oenology and Viticulture degrees from Charles Stuart University in Australia and advanced certificates with the American Sommelier Association and WSET.
