Organizers
Speakers
Stephanie Johnson DipWSET, IWA
Italian Wine Editor @ Wine & Spirits Magazine, New York, NY
Stephanie joined Wine & Spirits Magazine as Tasting Director in 2013 and became Italian Wine Editor three years later. She spends a significant amount of time each year visiting Italy’s wine regions, tasting with producers and researching articles about their practices. Stephanie holds the WSET Diploma in Wine & Spirits and has worked in the wine retail and restaurant sectors, including five years as Wine Director at City Winery in NYC’s SoHo district. She previously worked in textbook publishing as an editor and marketing manager in Minneapolis, Chicago, Austin and Tokyo.
Sam Bortugno
Wine Director @ Brennan’s Restaurant, New Orleans, Louisiana
Sam’s 18-year tenure in the restaurant industry began at the Culinary Institute of America, where he trained as a chef. He transitioned to wine and spirits and passed the Master Sommelier Theory exam in 2023. He is now preparing for the final sections of the Master Sommelier exam. Sam’s diverse restaurant experience includes stints in New York City, Miami, Seattle, and Orlando. He joined Brennan’s as Wine Director in September 2023 and oversees a diverse 3,400-selection list that is deep in wines from Burgundy and California. He is currently building up the list’s Piedmont selections.
Jacqueline Pirolo
Managing Partner & Beverage Director @ Macchialina, Miami Beach, Florida
Born in Italy, Jacqueline Pirolo grew up stateside in an Italian household with three older brothers. A graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego with a bachelor’s degree in business marketing, she began waiting tables at a lively Italian eatery with a Tuscan ambiance, her first foray into the world of fine dining. After briefly switching careers, Jacqueline returned to the restaurant industry in 2011 to open The Saint Austere in Brooklyn, NY, where she served as owner and general manager. In 2012, along with her brother, James Beard award semi-finalist Michael Pirolo, Jacqueline opened Macchialina in Miami Beach, where she has curated an award-winning, all-Italian wine list packed with selections that highlight Italy’s native grape varieties.
official event
What Somms want
Description
WARNING: IN ORDER TO ATTEND THIS MEETING, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN ENTRY PASS FOR THE EXHIBITION VINITALY 2024 VALID FOR THE DAY IN WHICH THE MEETING TAKES PLACE.
Pandemic lockdowns, MeToo, Black Lives Matter, inflation, supply chain chaos… It’s fair to say that the last decade has been one of upheaval for American restaurants. Wine & Spirits Magazine recently conducted more than 100 interviews with wine professionals at top restaurants across the country to learn how their programs have adapted. What trends emerged from those discussions, and which wines and wine regions most excite today’s American sommeliers? That’s the focus of this session led by Stephanie Johnson, W&S’s Italian Wine Editor. She’s joined by two American sommeliers who will talk about their wine programs and participate in a mock blind tasting panel to reveal the process W&S uses to select and score wines.