Wine, Wit, and Wisdom

Trudy Thomas, CSE

Trudy Thomas, CSE is a newly elected member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators (SWE). Trudy is a nationally known beverage professional, hospitality leader, wine director, spirits educator and mixologist. A Kentucky native, she grew up in an area rich in the tradition of moonshine which inspired an early fascination, not just with the bourbon industry, but with the people who make up the remarkable community that crafts, lives, and breathes bourbon.

Following her passion for the industry, she began working as a bartender in college and eventually moved to Chicago where she started managing beverage programs for regional restaurant chains, overseeing the entire program not just wine, spirits, beer, and cocktails, but coffee, tea, and other beverages, a path eventually leading to her first job as a National Director of Beverage when she joined the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant Group.

She later joined Marriott International at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2008, and was hired to raise the bar on their beverage program during the renovation of the historic property, including opening BLT Steak Scottsdale with Chef Laurent Tourondel. In 2014 she had the opportunity to move closer to her Kentucky home when she joined Marriott’s largest property Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville as Director of Beverage. In this role she was responsible for overseeing a 25-million-dollar beverage program for 20 restaurants and lounges, Soundwaves a 5-acre Water Park, Golf Course, Paddle Boat, and Night Club as well as room service and banquets.

Trudy holds multiple certifications including being one of the first to achieve the Certified Spirits Educator (CSE) designation from the Society of Wine Educators. She was one of the first women in the United States to judge brown spirits and has served as a judge to both the prestigious San Francisco Spirit’s Competition and as a wine and spirits judge at Chicago’s Beverage Tasting Institute.

Trudy currently lives in Nashville and is employed by Southworth Development as the Corporate Director of Beverage and Beverage Experience. When she isn’t listening to live music in one of her favorite venues, Trudy enjoys hiking, golf, and thoroughbred horse racing.

Welcome to the Board, Trudy Thomas!

Rick Lopus, CWE

Rick Lopus, CWE is a newly elected member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators (SWE). Today, he tells us about his journey to SWE in his own words:

“After several years in the restaurant business—as a server, bartender, GM and Chef—I stumbled into a job that would change my life. I joined the staff at Michigan’s best wine retailer/gourmet food shop, originally as the manager of groceries, but due to some personnel changes, I became the wine buyer. Though I knew wine a bit at the time, I was soon immersed in the wine trade in a much (much) bigger way: overseeing the purchasing and sales at a multi-store chain, which included attending as well as hosting all manner of wine events. I was also tasked with going on buying trips—several trips to Europe annually—as well as the rest of the world. It was a very auspicious time to be in the wine business: American were rapidly discovering fine wine, and the ‘classics’ were incredibly affordable then, so being exposed to Grand Cru Burgundies and classed-growth Bordeaux was a daily thing. I recall selling 1971 Gaja Barbaresco for $15 a bottle; we sold futures of 1982 First Growths for $350 a case (of 12), and Comte Lafon Meursault for $25 a bottle, and DRC Echezeaux for $69.99 a bottle. Alas, those days are long gone!

I left that role after 6 years to open my own wine distributor—Decanter Imports. Decanter was a success and after 7 years I received an offer ‘too good to refuse’ to sell to a larger wholesaler. I then joined the team at Michigan’s largest wine distributor and commenced to upgrade their catalogue dramatically. After 7 years there, I was approached by a winery group, so I made the jump to become a ‘supplier’ (Chateau Ste Michelle). After 3 years there, my previous employer reached out since he had just purchased another, very large wholesaler and I was asked to oversee sales of that statewide company as Vice President of Sales; that was 22 years ago. Today we are Michigan’s largest wholesaler, with over 1200 employees,  9,000 wines, and a similar number of spirits.

Along the way, my knowledge and interest in wine continued to grow, and at the urging of a wine industry friend, I decided to sit the CWE and, happily, passed. This led to an intense interest in sharing this knowledge and to increase the knowledge of our entire sales staff. We now have in our building around 95 CSW’s, 75 CSS’s, 2 CWE’s, as well as several WSET and CMS-A credentialed team members. Additionally, we have 34 Certified Sake Advisors on staff.  Note that though I am a strong advocate for our staff to have strong knowledge in order for them to act as true consultants, I always caution them to make sure they use their knowledge as a tool, rather than a weapon; some of the highly credentialed wine trade out there do the opposite, dismissing people that don’t know everything about wine.

My hopes in joining the Board at SWE is to help assure its financial health for the long haul. Additionally–and as an ‘older person’ myself, I think I can say this—to try to bring in younger members and leadership…again, all with the intent of SWE thriving for many years into the future.”

Welcome to the Board, Rick Lopus!

Wanda Mann, CSW

Wanda Mann, CSW is a newly elected member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators (SWE). Wanda attended her first professional wine tasting in 2009, and that pivotal event led her on a quest for wine knowledge and became the catalyst for a new career!

Wanda began her journey into wine education by studying wine on her own and—over the years—she developed an impressive, broad base of wine knowledge. In 2014 she decided to take her wine education up to the next level and registered for SWE’s Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) program. As she describes it, “after months of study, and a mountain of flashcards, I took the exam and passed. Earning my CSW was a personal triumph that gave me added confidence as I navigated my path in the wine industry.”

Wanda currently serves as the East Coast Editor of The SOMM Journal and Tasting Panel magazines in addition to creating original content for the Wine with Wanda website and social media platforms. Her writings about wine, winemakers, and wine regions have been published in Food & Wine, Decanter, NAPA Magazine, and VinePair. In addition, Wanda is a frequent present at wine events, including the Charleston Wine & Food Festival and the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen (among others).

When asked about her goals for her time as a member of the Board of Directors of SWE, Wanda says, “Wine has the power to bring people together, but that can only happen if we are genuinely engaged in making wine education accessible. The foundational knowledge provided by SWE levels the playing field, and it’s exciting to see how people use the information garnered from SWE to build their careers and communicate about wine creatively.  I plan to leverage my skills and contacts to communicate how the certification programs offered by the Society of Wine Educators bolster knowledge, confidence, and opportunities; and contribute to the industry’s credibility.”

Welcome to the Board, Wanda Mann!

Gary Pickard, CSE

Gary Pickard, CSE is a newly elected member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators (SWE). Gary started his wine and spirits journey in a place where most do not—the library. Fascinated by the behind-the-scenes aspects of the industry, he earned his Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS) certification promptly began work as a Craft Spirits Specialist for New York-based distributor, Empire Merchants. This job—working with Manhattan and Brooklyn’s elite wine and spirits retail accounts—led to a position in Brown-Forman’s newly-established Emerging Brands division as a Market Manager for the state of New Jersey.

While at Brown-Forman, Gary was also the United States point person for their global Old & Rare Whisky project. Currently, Gary is employed at Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits as their Regional Manager for the Northeast market.

Along the way, Gary has earned other certifications, including his Level 3 Award in Wine and Level 2 Award in Spirits from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), and his Executive Bourbon Stewardship from Moonshine University. Most recently, Gary has earned his Diploma in Single Malt Whisky from Edinburgh Whisky Academy and his Certified Spirits Educator (CSE) certification from the Society of Wine Educators.

Gary has been a wine and spirits judge for competitions and publications over the past 8 years, including The Fifty Best, The Tasting Alliance’s New York World Wine & Spirits Competition, Winemaker Magazine, and others. He has been interviewed on the subject of spirits by media outlets such as Whisky Advocate, Fire & Barley, and Livestrong.com. He is also a member of International Drinks Specialists. Originally from Mastic Beach, Long Island, NY; Gary now resides in Jersey City with a sizable bottle collection and a very understanding wife.

When asked about his goals for his time as a SWE Board Member, Gary replied, “I believe that I owe so much of my career in this industry to SWE. As a newcomer and unknown applicant in the ever-competitive field of beverage alcohol, achieving my CSS set me apart from the pack and I believe it showed my employers and future colleagues that I was serious about my trajectory and that they could rely on me for being a resource of knowledge for whichever products I was representing at the time. Being a Director on the Board is my way of attempting to pay the debt that I owe to SWE for giving me a jump start in this new chapter of my life. I also hope it will allow me to help other people who are currently struggling to establish themselves in the beverage industry.”

Welcome to the Board, Gary Pickard!