As a wine lover, chances are great that you also enjoy eating well. Both wine and food individually hold the power to unlock the best potential of the other element.   

Join us as we explore the theory and application behind wine and food pairings with five internationally-acclaimed Master Sommeliers. This seven-part interactive online series is designed to tantalize your tastebuds and fire up your creative juices as you listen to and learn from some of the best-honed palates in the industry!  

Your primary instructor, Evan Goldstein, Master Sommelier, will lead the first three sessions (Part One) on wine and food pairing fundamentals covering the gamut from cooking with wine and bridge ingredients to pairing wine with non-western cuisines. These lectures will be accompanied by practical wine and food pairing “taste-alongs”, with recommended wines to purchase and try at home.    

The last four sessions found in Part Two (current series) will allow you to put your newly acquired skills to practical application. Master Sommeliers will ask you to identify the best wine matches for dishes ranging from bistro to gourmet. 

This course is designed for anyone who wants both the wine and the food to shine—whether home chef, professional chef, or other wine hospitality professional. Do you cook at home? Dine out? This course is for you.  

Session 4: Simmering Sommelier: David Glancy MS  

David Glancy MS will introduce you to three dishes, building in complexity from bistro to gastro.  With each dish, he will provide three possible wine pairing options.  After participants vote for their suggestions via an online poll, David will explain why each of the wine options would or would not pair with the dish.   

There is no food or wine required for this session.  

Session 5: Simmering Sommelier 2: Virginia Philip MS 

Virginia Philip MS will introduce you to three dishes, building in complexity from bistro to gastro.  With each dish, she will provide three possible wine pairing options.  After participants vote for their suggestions via an online poll, Virginia will explain why each of the wine options would or would not pair with the dish.   

There is no food or wine required for this session  

Session 6: Simmering Sommelier 3: George Miliotes MS 

George Miliotes MS will introduce you to three dishes, building in complexity from bistro to gastro.  With each dish, he will provide three possible wine pairing options.  After participants vote for their suggestions via an online poll, George will explain why each of the wine options would or would not pair with the dish.   

There is no food or wine required for this session  

Session 7: Simmering Sommelier 4: Chris Gaither MS 

Chris Gaither MS will introduce you to three dishes, building in complexity from bistro to gastro.  With each dish, they will provide three possible wine pairing options.  After participants vote for their suggestions via an online poll, Chris will explain why each of the wine options would or would not pair with the dish.   

There is no food or wine required for this session.  

Master Sommelier, David Glancy is founder and owner of the San Francisco Wine School. 

When one didn’t exist, David Glancy created a Certified Sommelier Program at the Professional Culinary Institute (now known as ICC), successfully coaching more than 400 students to pass the Court’s Certified Sommelier exam. 

Glancy’s program remains the only Certified Sommelier program officially approved by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Soon after in 2011, Glancy founded San Francisco Wine School to create the ideal educational setting from the ground up. Read about his vision. 

Glancy is one of only twelve people in the world to hold both the revered Master Sommelier diploma and a Certified Wine Educator credential. A certified French Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Professional, and Certified Specialist of Spirits, Glancy has earned the credential for every program he teaches, and more. He taught wine and business management at Le Cordon Bleu’s California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and served on the editorial board of Sommelier Journal. He currently sits on the board of directors for the Society of Wine Educators. 

Virginia Philip is the owner of the Virginia Philip Wine Spirits & Academy and wine director at the iconic Breakers Palm Beach resort, where she leads the award-winning beverage program for 10 restaurants and bars. A strong female force in a predominantly male industry, Philip became the eleventh woman in the world to earn the extraordinary accreditation of Master Sommelier, the highest certification of international proficiency held by just 29 women out of 236 professionals worldwide, in 2002. Philip continued to earn notable achievements throughout her career including the title of “Best Sommelier of the United States” from the American Sommelier Association from 2002 to 2006, James Beard Foundation nomination for Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional in 2012 and “Honorary Doctorate Degree of Oenology” from Johnson & Wales (where she graduated in 1989) in 2015. In 2017, Philip achieved a lifelong dream with the debut of the Virginia Philip Wine Spirits & Academy in Palm Beach, where she offers 1000+ personally-selected wine offerings and an extensive spirits collection along with weekly wine education programs and guest appearances from national and international winemakers. 

Philip has earned her reputation as a devoted expert in the industry. In 2020, she was named by WINWSA (Women in Wine & Spirits Association) as 1 of 50 of the most influential women in wine & spirits, and has been featured on “The TODAY Show,” the Food Network, Food & Wine, Town & Country, Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Country Living and Decanter, among others. She continues to follow her passion for wine education and share her insight on the world’s most impressive wines. 

As a savvy businesswoman and entrepreneur, Philip is highly regarded for her dedication to mentoring future sommeliers and those in pursuit of Master Sommelier certification or furthering education 

As one of 273 Master Sommeliers in the world, George Miliotes is a passionate educator and curator of wines. A firm believer in education and knowledge-sharing, Miliotes continuously studies wine, identifying the most interesting wines through annual trips to wine-growing regions from France to South Africa. Building relationships with some of the best vintners in the world, he also takes an active role in the winemaking process helping to create custom blends.  

Miliotes’ unique by-the-glass lists encourage guests to make adventurous choices, selecting new wines, whether they are domestic or global, to pair with their courses. The result of his worldwide efforts are wine lists that are distinct to his restaurant’s culinary offerings, and widely reviewed as exceptional in every way.  

George Miliotes is the grandson of Greek immigrants and a child of the restaurant and hospitality business. His family owned a specialty market and café in Orlando, Fla., which became a gathering spot for local chefs and served as the starting point for Miliotes’ passion for food and wine.  

Miliotes later became the general manager of California Grill at Walt Disney World Resort, where he not only created an award-winning wine list, but also one of the first lists in the country to offer 100 wines by the glass. He is widely regarded as one the restaurant business’ foremost wine experts.  

In March 2007, Miliotes became a Master Sommelier, passing a series of rigorous examinations that requires the candidate to identify grape variety, country of origin, district of origin and vintage of wines by taste, sight, and aroma alone. From 2002 – 2016, he oversaw all aspects of wine culture for Darden including The Capital Grille and Eddie V’s, and was one of the founders of Seasons 52. George led the development of their award-winning wine lists and educated and motivated service teams about wine to deliver exceptional guest experiences.  

Miliotes returned to Walt Disney World with the opening of Wine Bar George, the only wine bar in Florida led by a Master Sommelier. Now open in The Landing at Disney Springs, Wine Bar George brings Miliotes’ expertise and worldwide travels to the heart of Central Florida.  

As with many wine professionals, Chris Gaither walked a somewhat circuitous route to get where he is now. His first restaurant job was merely a means to pay bills while he attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. There, he studied Spanish Language with the goal of ending up in education. After graduation, however, he realized that he felt most at home in the restaurant business, and decided to stay in it for a little longer. He accepted a server position at another

Atlanta restaurant, One Midtown Kitchen, from where he would develop a keen interest in wine. He naturally began to study towards gaining certification with the Court of Master Sommeliers, quickly passing his Introductory and Certified exams. 

Chris continued to look for ways to expand his knowledge of food and wine, which led him to Restaurant Eugene, a fine dining restaurant with a focus on tasting menus and wine pairings. His hard work paid off when he was offered a coveted wine internship at The French Laundry.  Under the direction of Dennis Kelly, MS, Chris learned stellar cellar management along with the importance of the small details in elevating a dining experience. When a full-time sommelier position opened at Spruce, in San Francisco, he jumped at the chance to work with the extensive, Burgundy-heavy wine list, under the tutelage of Wine Director Andrew Green, and eventually became Lead Sommelier.

In 2013 he got the chance to run his own program when he became the Wine Director at Restaurant Gary Danko, another in a long line of prestigious restaurants in his history. He's been an instructor with San Francisco Wine School since 2015 and currently owns and operates the wine centric Ungrafted in the Dog Patch of San Francisco and Glu Glu in Chase Center