First generation American, Cuban parents with Spanish, Italian, French and Chinese ancestry plus being raised on both coast made it easy to appreciate Culture & Tradition. I fell into the Wine Industry early in my life and by 22 years old, I was running the first white-table cloth restaurant (Nemo) in South Beach, Florida. It only took one Wine Maker Dinner for the Wine Bug to take a hold of my compass and guide me further into a major career.
I started as a Wine Rep in Orange County for Wine Warehouse and within 6 months was hired by then Paterno Imports (Terlato Wine International) to be the District Manager of Los Angeles. The next 10 years took me around the world. I was able to meet some of the greatest wine makers, visit some of the best vineyards & taste some epic vintages. I was also able to work a few harvests, which helped me understand the geography & wine practices that made those wines so special. I am proud to say I helped develop some major brands throughout the US within the various channels in the hospitality industry.
Needless to say the script was written to eventually venture on my own and create Atrium Wine Brokers. During all my travels one word always resonated in my mind, "Relationships". I was meeting so many people from all over the world and before I knew it I had 5000 plus contacts on my phone. Fortunately, I am still connected to almost all of them. Atrium was created with those friends in mind & I look forward to continued travel, education, tastings and sharing so many more stories with all of you.