Seminar Schedule

Participating Speakers Included

Gloria Maroti Frazee

Gloria oversees Wine Spectator School, which offers wine courses for consumers as well as restaurant, retail and winery sales staff at winespectatorschool.com. She also conducts wine seminars internationally.

Gloria is a graduate of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and worked in the marketing department at a large winery. Gloria managed brands ranging in production from 10,000 to 1.2 million cases and developed nationally-implemented wine appreciation, sales and service training programs.

Gloria eventually found her dream job at Wine Spectator, where she launched Wine Spectator School. The on-line courses include video-clips with winemakers, tutored tastings to share with friends, worksheets, study guides and maps.

Thomas Pastuszak

Born & bred in New York, Thomas got his first taste of the restaurant world in his early teens while helping out at his godfather’s bed & breakfast, Peconic Lodge, on Shelter Island. While studying neurobiology and classical piano at Cornell University, Thomas worked to pay off his student loans as a bartender at Stella’s in Ithaca, New York, where he fell in love with food, wine & hospitality. He went on to become the General Manager at both Stella’s and its sister restaurant, Olivia, and by 2009, he was made the Director of Operations of the expanding restaurant group.

In January 2011, Thomas moved back to New York to take on the role of Wine Director at Chef Tom Colicchio’s newest restaurant, Colicchio & Sons.  In March 2012, the team behind the world-renowned Eleven Madison Park created The NoMad, which Thomas opened as its Wine Director & helped it achieve its 3-Star New York Times rating within a few months of its opening.  Named one of the "Best New Sommeliers of 2012" by Wine & Spirits Magazine, Thomas is currently working toward a Master Sommelier certification through the Court of Master Sommeliers, and is committed to sharing his love of great food & wine with everyone he meets.

Lou Di Palo

Lou Di Palo is a noted trade member, epicurean and fourth generation purveyor of authentic products of Italy. His family run business, Di Palo’s Fine Foods, opened its doors in 1925 in New York City’s Little Italy where it remains today. Lou and his family are personally involved in every facet of the business as their customers remain their first priority.

Lou travels to Italy several times a year to personally select the country’s best handcrafted specialties, ensuring excellence with every season. When he’s not in Italy, Lou is behind the counter at the store, where crowds of faithful customers brave the wait for knowledgeable and personalized service. Lou explains the traditions and history behind the products, offering tastes to store patrons, many of whom have known Di Palo’s through the generations.

It is out of his passion for authentic Italian Products along with his desire to share his knowledge and experiences with others that Lou has become New York City’s very own beloved Italian Cheese Guru and a regularly featured educator and lecturer on Italian Cheeses and specialty products.

Lou has appeared on many radio and television broadcasts and been featured in numerous magazine and newspapers including The New York Times, Vogue, Gourmet, Wine Spectator, and various publications on Italian Cuisine.

Visit Lou in store or online:
Di Palo’s Fine Food
200 Grand Street (between Mulberry St & Mott St)
New York NY  10013
Tel: (212) 226-1033
Online:www.dipaloselects.com

John Cressman

World Wide Wine LLC was founded by John Cressman in 2009. The company now operates as a national importer of fine wines and artisan spirits; Distributor in Illinois and as a wholesaler supplier in MASS., NH, FL, LA, OHIO and TX. The partners involved with World Wide Wine are highly experienced in the wine and spirits industry and have all been working in the beverage industry for many years.

John, known as “The Wine Guy”, has been involved with food and wine for the past 25 years. With a reverence and passion for the grape, John continues his pursuit today as a wine importer and distributor, consultant, speaker, collector and wine educator who teaches others about oenology (the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking), food and wine pairing  and wine collecting, but mostly “how to have fun drinking wine!”.  Mr. Cressman is a sommelier diplomat with the Association of Italian Sommeliers (AIS)  and a member of the Society of Wine Educators.  He has just earned his degree as “Italian Wine Master” and was awarded the gold “Testivan” cup which is presented to individuals who have made significant and long-lasting contributions to the wine industry. John was recognized for his work in helping to build Italy’s wine industry into a global force, by assisting to develop the export many of Italy’s indigenous grapes and helping to elevate Italy to a prominent  position among the world’s top wine-producing regions.

John has presided at numerous educational wine tastings, seminars, and wine dinners for small and large industry groups, including professional culinary schools, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and retailers, as well as consumer groups and charities.

Through these unique experiences, he has gained invaluable knowledge about the wine industry that more than anything enjoys sharing wine and his wine knowledge with others.

Cressman has had an extensive career in the wine & spirits business with progressive and successful experience in marketing, sales, management and ownership. John began in this industry selling wine for DiCarlo Armanetti Fine Wines in Chicago and became DiCarlo’s Director of Wine and Special Events for the 5 store chain.  Looking to expand his experience and career in wine, he took a position with Orange Importing as a Regional Manager selling French wines and Champagnes. His travels to France on many occasions continued to increase his food and wine knowledge. Throughout his career, he has been involved in projects in the epicenters of food and wine including Italy, Spain, France and in the U.S.. Founding World Wide Wine LLC has been a lifelong ambition, and one borne with a very clear identity and philosophy, which John strongly upholds today in his desire to build a company where passion and integrity come first. His portfolio contains some of the very best Italian wines available anywhere in the USA!

Seeing the necessity in the market for an organization that would truly represent the best interests of the suppliers, while respecting the needs of the customer, World Wide Wine LLC has established an unprecedented business model where we are working as “partners” with the suppliers, and where we are also the distributor that makes sure the customer comes first.  The model supports sales, education and brand development in the most creative, passionate and dynamic ways.

Since inception four years ago, the philosophy and mission of WWW LLC has proudly remained unchanged by always celebrating character, diversity, expression and tradition on every level. 

David Rossi
Winemaker Fulcrum Wines

After his BS in Finance from the University of Arizona and an MSIA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, he spent the first part of his career in the food industry working for companies like Schwans, Tyson Foods, and H.J. Heinz. His wine epiphany came in the form of a Reserve Petite Sirah from Foppiano that he tasted in the tasting room in 1995.  this set him on the path to try to make his own wines.

His winemaking career began as a home winemaker. David's obsessive-compulsive drive to learn and expand his hobby led to a basement full of commercial winemaking equipment and every chemistry-laden text book on the art and science of enology. After a windfall of medals from national amateur winemaking competitions he, along with Christinna, decided to launch Fulcrum Wines.

As chief winemaker, David lives for the harvest and personally ushers the wines from grape sorting to bottling. Those that know David know him to be one of the most detailed and exacting Pinot Noir winemakers in California today. He is focused on perfecting each vintage of Fulcrum Pinot Noir.

David works closely with Fulcrum's growers on issues ranging from pruning and canopy management, to crop thinning and harvest timing. Always hands-on, David often loads and hauls the fruit to the winery himself. This approach continues in the winery where he oversees all aspects of each individual fermentation.

Now with seven Fulcrum vintages under his belt, David has expanded into a larger custom crush facility in Napa, California. Here he can continue to perfect the processes that yield consistently high quality Pinot Noir.