I stumbled into wine through the kitchen. Wonderfully unanticipated twists and turns post a U.Va. Liberal Arts degree included waitressing on a Wyoming ranch; corporate banking home in Atlanta; cooking back on the ranch; and living la dolce vita in Rome for a year. Then the big move: culinary school in New York in 1994. I got hooked on life as a line cook and never looked back. Along the way, I acquired a sweet chef husband, burn scars to last a lifetime, an affinity for hard physical labor, and the chance to flip from the BOH to the FOH at Gramercy Tavern (the hubby and I were talking about opening a restaurant and needed one of us—tag, you're it!—to see the other side) Unexpectedly, a wine wizard cast a spell over me on my first day as a server, and my fortunate fate as a lifetime cellar rat was sealed (as was Ralf's solo act as restaurant-chef-owner-wine-whiz). Fast forward to and through a dozen amazing years as a manager and the beverage director of Gramercy Tavern...time for a change of pace...and enter David Bowler. Who could have resisted the rare opportunity to dive deep into the wine world as part of such a happy, healthy company culture featuring this awesome portfolio of producers? Not this lucky late-bloomer of a line cook, who knows a good thing when she sees it and also loves being able to walk to work!