Keith Wallace, M.S. Oenology and Viticulture (

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

) is the wine

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

for ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

''. He founded The Wine School of Philadelphia. Previously he served as an executive chef and a journalist for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, as well as a

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

and wine consultant in the United States and Italy.

Wine School of Philadelphia

Founded in 2001 by Wallace, The Wine School of Philadelphia is a school for

sommeliers A sommelier ( or or ; ), 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 wine steward in hau ...

, wine educators, and

winemakers A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

. It offers sommelier certification via the National Wine School. In 2018, it was the highest rated wine school in the United States.

Publications

He has contributed to ''Philadelphia Magazine'', ''Philadelphia Style'', ''Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 25th Anniversary Edition'' and ''Barron's New Wine Lovers Companion'', among other publications. He created and co-starred in the ''Philly Uncorked'' show for www.philly.com. His food and wine book ''Corked & Forked: Four Seasons of Eats and Drinks'' was published by Running Press in 2011. The book was critically hailed by multiple publications, including Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Booklist. The book went on to hit the Amazon Bestseller list for Food and Wine books in 2011.

Television

Wallace has been the star of two shows. In 2008, he co-wrote and co-starred in ''Philly Uncorked''. Produced by

Philly.com ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

, the show featured Wallace and his co-star Maria Valetta. The show revolved around wine education and wine recommendations. It was underwritten by the PLCB and filmed by

Banyan Productions Banyan Productions is a production company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Clients include Discovery Channel, the Food Network, Fox, HGTV, Lifetime, NBC, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TLC, and the Travel Channel. Banyan Produ ...

. The upcoming show ''Whine & Cheese'' features Mr. Wallace as the show's wine expert. He is featured in all eleven of the first season's episodes.

Controversy

The Wine School of Philadelphia received national press attention in 2009 when the

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challenged its trademark application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for the mark, "Sommelier Smackdown". Litigation surrounding the school's intellectual property rights is ongoing. Also in 2009, the Wine School and founder Wallace were featured on NPR's ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

'' as a result of Wallace's controversial article published in ''The Daily Beast'', "How Wine Became Like Fast Food".

Epilepsy

In 2018, the podcast ''Philly Who'' revealed that Wallace had had epilepsy since a car crash that left him severely injured and also killed his fiancé in Baltimore, Maryland. During the interview, he admitted to working as a winemaker in

Napa Valley 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 ...

and

Chianti A Chianti wine (, also , ) is any wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a ''fiasco'' ("flask"; ''pl. fiaschi''). However, the ''fiasco'' is ...

for years without revealing his disability to his employers. . A previous article in the neighborhood newspaper '' Chestnut Hill Local'' featured a story on his seizure dog, Rosie.

References

External links

The Wine School Website

The Wine School Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Keith Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Oenologists Wine critics American educators University of California, Davis alumni American people with disabilities