Drinking Wine with Jen

I was introduced to Oregon Pinot Noir at a holiday party in my early twenties, and that became my default red. A few years later, I grabbed a Grüner Veltliner solely because it had a well-designed label (it was Loimer Lois) and that became my default wine for summer months. The Pinot and Grüner were my regulars for about 15 years, with occasional (aka cheap) deviations. 

I moved from St Paul to Boston in 2017 and during my time there I expanded my palate, thanks to wine bars Rebel Rebel, Nathálie, + Haley.henry and wine shops Streetcar, Brix, + Urban Grape (RIP UG). While I was in Beantown I decided to formalize my interest + learn from others and I received my WSET level 1 award in 2019. It was also that year I learned through my corporate job that I am good at teaching, who knew?!

I moved back to MN in 2020 with 12 cases of wine — I had been away for 3 years and I wasn’t sure that the wines from small/natural/biodynamic producers I'd grown to love on the east coast would be available in my home state. Once the pandemic eased I was happy to find local wine shops that carried wine styles I'd grown to love. That first summer of the pandemic one of my only social activities was leading a small group of friends on themed wine tastings outdoors. 

In 2021 I started working part time at The Little Wine Shoppe in Saint Anthony Park. At the end of that year,  I received my WSET level 2 award. The following year I joined the team at Violet Wine where I still work today and offer Art & Wine events.

In 2022 a friend asked me to lead a tasting for an intimate group, and I loved it all: creating the theme, curating the line up, and most importantly, making sure I was creating a safe and fun learning environment for everyone. Let’s set up a tasting!