Andrea Robinson (or Andrea Immer-Robinson) is an American

sommelier A ''sommelier'' ( , , ), ''chef de vin'' or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the ''s ...

, chef, television personality, and author. She is one of thirty-two women Master Sommeliers in the world and was the first woman to be named by the Sommelier Society of America as the best sommelier in the United States, which occurred in 1997. She has been the recipient of three

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

Personal life and education

Andrea Immer was born in North Dakota and raised in Texas and

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern third of the U.S. state of Indiana and borders the states of Illinois to the west, Kentucky to the south, and Ohio to the east. Spanning the state's southe ...

. She has enjoyed cooking and food since she was a child. When she was in college she took a

wine tasting Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onward. Modern, professional w ...

class at a restaurant in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas. The class was a catalyst for Robinson, instigating her passion for wine. She studied economics and finance and graduated with her economics and business degrees from

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

. She worked for

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...

as an

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

. She started to volunteer at a local wine school, pouring wine and cleaning glassware. She took free classes and met wine industry people. Robinson did a wine tasting for

Champagne Krug Krug Champagne is a Champagne house founded by Joseph Krug in 1843. It is based principally in Reims, the main city in France's Champagne region (wine), Champagne region and is one of the famous Champagne houses that formed part of the Grandes ...

one day. The next day she quit her job at Morgan Stanley to pursue a career in wine. After quitting, she traveled through Europe by train and foot in 1990, with the goal to learn more about wine. She remained for six months, staying in

hostels A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

. She returned and started working in the wine industry. Robinson graduated from the

International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center (originally known as the French Culinary Institute) was a private for-profit culinary school from 1984 to 2020 headquartered in New York City, New York. The facilities included professional kitchens for hands-on ...

. She eventually became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of wine studies at the institution. Robinson lives in

Napa Valley, California Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Napa County, California. The area was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on February 27, 1981, after a 1978 petition submitted by the Napa Valley Vin ...

. She has three children, Lucas, Jesse, and Jack.

Career

After returning from Europe, Robinson started working in the wine department at the Windows on the World in New York City. She was mentored by

Kevin Zraly Kevin Zraly is an American wine educator and the founder of the Windows on the World Wine School, who has been described as America's most famous and entertaining wine teacher. Career Between 1976 and 2001, Zraly held the position of wine directo ...

. Eventually she became the first female cellar master at the restaurant and she eventually earned her Master Sommeliers Diploma. She also competed in the World Championship of Sommeliers. The earning of her diploma made her, at that time, one of eighteen women master sommeliers in the world. She would become the Beverage Director and Cellarmaster of the Windows on the World. She was also the Corporate Director of Beverage Programs at Starwood. Since 2008, Robinson has served as the master sommelier for

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

. With Delta, Robinson is responsible for tasting approximately 2,000

California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. ...

s to select 30 wines for

business class Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names that vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between e ...

and first class passengers. She tasted a selection of the 2,000 wines both on land and also while flying in an airplane to compare how altitude affects wine tasting. Robinson has provided

consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

services for

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging brands that include hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. Marriott International owns over 37 ho ...

Target Corporation Target Corporation is an American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh-largest retailer in the United States, and a component of th ...

Macy's Macy's is an American department store chain founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. The first store was located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 13th and 14th Streets, south of the present-day flagship store at Herald Square on West 34 ...

and

Hilton Worldwide Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels, resorts, and timeshare properties. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the company is now led by Chris ...

. As a writer, she has written numerous books about wine appreciation. She has also contributed to ''

Health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

'' and ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazines. Robinson also has a collection of

wine glass A wine glass is a type of Glass (drinkware), glass that is used for drinking or wine tasting, tasting wine. Most wine glasses are stemware (goblets), composed of three parts: the bowl, stem, and foot. There are a wide variety of slightly differe ...

es called "The One". It took her three years to develop the stemware to her liking. In 2006, Robinson partnered with the Wine Market Council to promote wines to go with American

take out A take-out (US, Canada, Philippines) or takeaway (UK, Ireland, Commonwealth English, Commonwealth) is a prepared meal or other food items purchased at a restaurant or fast food outlet with the intent to eat elsewhere. A concept found in many C ...

food. Robinson has hosted two television shows, ''Simply Wine'' and ''Pairings with Andrea,'' both on the

Fine Living Network Fine Living (Sometimes called Fine Living Network or FLN) was a European television channel, initially owned and operated by Scripps Networks Interactive and later by Discovery Inc., from 2018 onwards. It broadcast from to . It featured document ...

. She also teaches cooking classes and teaches online courses about wine.

Awards and recognition

* 2005 Wine Literary Award, Wine Appreciation Guild

References

External links

Official website

''Behind the Grape with Andrea Robinson,''
an interview with Robinson from the Daily Grape {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Andrea American food writers American sommeliers 1964 births Living people James Beard Foundation Award winners

Personal life and education

Career

Awards and recognition

Further reading

References

External links