My parents, Sam and Peg Sweesy, were always bons vivants. But when I was eight years old, my mother travelled to France and Italy where, à la Julia Child and her Sole Meunière, she underwent a culinary epiphany. Upon her return, she took to the stoves with passion, and our household quickly became fluent with classic European dishes and the wines that went with them.

In 1981 I started as an assistant to a business affairs negotiator at MGM Television. Business Affairs is traditionally a male attorney dominated profession, but, despite being neither, I climbed up that ladder and ended up, several years later, as co-head of Business Affairs at Warner Bros. Television. My department was in charge of 20+ pilots and 20+ series every year including Friends, ER, The West Wing, The Drew Carey Show and Two and a Half Men. I have been told that I am one of the toughest negotiators there is, but that I get away with it because I have a great phone voice.

I got serious about wine twelve years ago after a trip to Napa and started classes at the Rudd Center at the CIA in St. Helena, CA. It wasn’t long before the world of wine made my day job seem unromantic and I vowed to one day do something about it.