Andrea Robinson (or Andrea Immer-Robinson) is an American sommelier, 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 award ...

Personal life and education

Andrea Immer was born and raised in Southern Indiana. She has enjoyed cooking and food since she was a child. When she was in college she took a wine tasting class at a restaurant in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

. She worked for

Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment management and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in more than 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the fir ...

as an investment banker. She started to volunteer at a local wine shop, pouring wine. She took free classes and met wine industry people. Robinson did a wine tasting for Champagne Krug 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, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

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

International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute by D ...

. She eventually became dean of wine studies at the institution. Robinson lives in

Napa Valley, California Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

. She is married and 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 Windows on the World was a complex of dining, meeting, and entertainment venues on the top floors (106th and 107th) of the North Tower (Building One) of the original World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. It included a restaurant called ...

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 director ...

. 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

. 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., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

. 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. I ...

s to select 30 wines for business class 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 services for

Marriott International Marriott International, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational company that operates, franchises, and licenses lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. T ...

Target Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

and

Hilton Worldwide Hilton Worldwide (legally Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.) is an American multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises a broad portfolio of hotels and resorts. Founded by Conrad Hilton in May 1919, the corporation is now led b ...

. As a writer, she has written numerous books about

wine appreciation 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 ...

. She has also contributed to ''

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

'' 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 gentlema ...

'' magazines. Robinson also has a collection of wine glasses called "The One". It took her three years to develop the stemware to her liking. In 2006, Robinson partnered with the

Wine Market Council Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

to promote wines to go with American

take out A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

food. Robinson has hosted two television shows, ''Simply Wine'' and ''Pairings with Andrea,'' both on the Fine Living Network. 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 Sommeliers 1964 births Living people James Beard Foundation Award winners

Personal life and education

Career

Awards and recognition

Further reading

References

External links