Today we interviewed Julia Bandy, director of marketing and sales at Soter Vineyards. She shared her love for cooking and food growing up, which led her to attend culinary school, and then to work in several small family-owned restaurants. Julia’s love for wine was initially found during culinary school, and she eventually found her way to Oregon to work harvest in 2012. Her entry the wine industry eventually led her to dive into educating herself about wine through Sommelier and WSET courses. Julia shared how she learns best, and discussed what certifications she is pursuing currently.
Yesterday, Julia Cresto sat down with us on her beautiful deck and shared her journey throughout the wine industry. She began with her influential time studying food science at OSU, and transitioned into telling us about her first harvest working at Gallo. Julia walks us through each of her harvest experiences all over the world, from Napa, Australia, to eventually returning to Oregon. She describes how she ended up at Ponzi Vineyards where she has continued learning from the team there and found a job she finds joy in every day.
Today we met with L.M. Archer over Zoom. L.M. Is a freelance wine writer where she writes for publications such as The Oregon Wine Press, Wine Business Monthly, and Wine Enthusiast, among other media. During this interview she describes her journey from working at a fortune 500 company, which led to coming to terms with the fact that she needed to become a writer to achieve ultimate happiness. L.M. discussed what drew her to writing, and what keeps her engaged day to day. She describes the many counties her career has taken her, and shares where she hopes to travel to next.
