Last month, at our annual conference, SWE welcomed its new Executive Committee and Board of Directors. While many of our board members have served for quite a few years, there are also some new faces in the group as well. Today we’d like to introduce you to one of our new board members, Maeve Pesquera…and thank her for her service to the Society!
New Board Member Maeve Pesquera, CSS
Maeve Pesquera, CSS is a newly elected member of the Board of Directors for the Society of Wine Educators. Maeve has over 20 years of experience in fine dining and currently serves as the Director of Wine for the nationwide Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar group. During her time at Fleming’s, she has curated the award-winning wine list, created many innovative staff training programs, and implemented Fleming’s unique WiNEPAD.
Maeve’s love affair with wine began in France, as her family spent many summers in Provence, in a picturesque village with a small family vineyard. Her family, particularly her “Grandpapa,” who was 89 or 90 at the time, was the one who showed her that wine was not just a drink, not just a beverage, but something much more special than that.
Maeve recalls this time with her grandfather, as “every night at dinner he would pour each of us a tiny glass of wine and encourage us, guide us, to smell it, put our nose in the glass-just inhale and enjoy. His gentle guidance taught me how to discover wine, guided me to understand that it is an experience, an emotion, a connection. He guided me onto my own journey with wine, and that led me into the wine world.”
These days, in her spare time, Maeve likes to focus on her family, which includes her husband, Luis, and their five sons. This big, happy family enjoys weekend soccer, cross-country, and baseballs games as well as enjoying the beautiful beaches of southern California.
Welcome, Maeve!