Washington Wine Academy Faculty Speakers

The Washington Wine Academy is privileged to have the highly acclaimed wine columnists from the Washington Post, Washington Times and Washingtonian Magazine as our featured faculty. In additionan, we are fortunate to have the DC Area's most knowledgeable wine speakers as part of our team to provide you the best of the best.

Michael Franz

Michael Franz is a wine writer, educator, and consultant. He is editor of Wine Review Online, wine columnist for France magazine, and a freelance contributor to many national and international wine magazines. He wrote nearly 300 articles as regular wine columnist for The Washington Post from 1994 to 2005. Franz left the Post in 2005 to help found Wine Review Online as editor and managing partner. Wine Review Online has quickly become one of the world’s most widely viewed wine publications, now logging as many as two million hits per month.

Franz teaches wine classes for Washington Wine Academy and L’Academie de Cuisine, and is also a wine consultant for 13 restaurants in the National Capital area with combined annual wine sales of more than $10 million.

He has conducted more than 950 site visits and tastings at wineries across Western and Eastern Europe, South America, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. He tastes approximately 9,000 wines each year, and regularly serves as a judge at national and international wine competitions and as Chief Judge for competitions in Washington, D.C., San Diego and New Zealand.

Franz has testified as an expert witness in several cases related to the wine trade in Federal District Court. He has appeared on numerous television shows, and is frequently interviewed on National Public Radio.

Paul Lukacs

The Washington Wine Academy is equally pleased to have Paul Lukacs as our featured wine speaker in our faculty lineup.

Paul Lukacs is a wine writer, educator, and advisor. He is the author of American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine (Houghton Mifflin). A social history of wine in the United States, both its production and its appreciation, American Vintage won the three major wine "book of the year" awards in 2001-from the James Beard Foundation, Champagne Veuve Clicquot, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. It was favorably reviewed in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and most of the major American newspapers and book reviews.

Since 1994, Lukacs has written features, columns, and individual wine profiles for The Washington Times on a weekly basis. In addition, beginning in 2002, he became the regular wine columnist for Washingtonian Magazine . In these positions, he covers wines and wine making all across the globe. He also has written about wine on a freelance basis for many magazines, including Saveur, Wine and Spirits, Food Arts, and American Heritage. He has traveled to many of the world's most important wine growing regions, and evaluates literally thousands of wines every year.

Besides writing about wine, Lukacs has taught numerous wine appreciation and education classes. Since 1999 he has worked as a wine consultant for restaurants in the Washington, D. C. area, helping select wines for wine lists, pair wine with menu items, and train wait staff. Lukacs has served as a judge at numerous wine competitions, both in America and in Europe. In addition, he is one of the co-organizers and co-founders of the International Oyster Wine Competition, held each November in Washington.

Lukacs also serves as the chair of the English department at Loyola College in Maryland. His academic specialty is 19th Century American literature, and he has published in leading academic journals in that field.

He lives in Baltimore with his wife Marguerite Thomas.

Jay Youmans, Master of Wine

Jay Youmans, MW entered the wine trade in 1978 while still attending Wake Forest University. He helped open and manage one of the first wine bars in North Carolina, the Salem Cotton Company. From 1981-98 he held executive positions with Famous Brands, Montdomaine Vineyards, Mims Distributing, and Southern Slopes International Wines.

In 1998 he started Rock Creek Wine Merchants, a sales, marketing, and import company, which he owns and manages today.

In addition, he is the managing partner of No Vineyards and Winery, a California Sauvignon Blanc brand; and a partner in Manse Field, a Pinot Noir vineyard in Martinborough, New Zealand. He is an Advanced Level Master Sommelier, and a member of the Society of Wine Educators. He serves as a wine judge for the Starwine International Wine Competition, The Atlantic Wine Competition, and the California State Fair.

He is co-publisher of the International Wine Review, and a member of the Virginia Wine Guide tasting panel. In 2004, Jay became the 21st American to pass the Master of Wine exam, winning the Vina Errazuriz award for the outstanding paper on the business of wine.

Ben Giliberti

Acclaimed wine critic, Ben Giliberti recently retired as wine critic for the Washington Post, which he has happily been doing for over 20 years. His popular wine column appeared weekly in Washington Post food section on the Wine Plus page, as well as in the Los Angeles Times, Long Island Newsday, The Detroit News, The Charlotte Observer, the Providence Journal and other newspapers across the country.

His articles on dining have also appeared in the Wine Spectator, The Wine News, Wine & Spirits, Cigar Aficionado, Washington Flyer and other magazines.

He has traveled regularly throughout the vineyards of Europe and United States. He began his career in journalism in his freshman year at Yale covering ice hockey for WYBC, the campus radio station.

In 2005, he retired from the United States Justice Department after a 30 year career as a lawyer in the antitrust field. He is married and lives in Washington with his wife and two daughters.

Dave McIntyre

Dave McIntyre has published Dave McIntyre’s WineLine on the Internet since 1999, offering an alternative and informative take on wine. He is currently the wine columnist for Washingtonian magazine and a contributor to Foodservice Monthly, a trade publication covering Virginia, Maryland, DC and Delaware.

His other food and wine writings have appeared in Wine Enthusiast, the San Francisco Chronicle's Wine section, Wines & Vines, WineReviewOnline, The Wine Report, Washington Life, Decanter.com, Touring & Tasting, WineToday.com (New York Times Online), Restaurant Digest, Capital Style, The Washington Post, DC magazine, and the national and Washington D.C. newsletters of the American Institute of Wine & Food.

Dave has also appeared as a guest wine expert on “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” on National Public Radio and on WTOP radio as well as Montgomery Community Television. He wrote the biweekly “Good Libations” column for Washington Sidewalk.com from 1997-1999.

Dave contributes entries on Eastern U.S. wineries for the Oz Clarke guides and serves as a judge for several wine competitions in Virginia and New York. He serves on the Auction Committee for the American Heart Association's "Heart's Delight" wine auction and is a past board member of the Vinifera Wine Growers Association and the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food.

Dave came into food and wine writing as a journalist who wanted to combine his profession and his passion. For 10 years he was a foreign correspondent in his home town of Washington, D.C., reporting on U.S. politics and foreign policy for the English-language service of the Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, a major European wire service. His reporting and analyses were widely published in English-language papers around the globe.

Since February 2003, Dave has been a Public Affairs Officer with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Rockville, Maryland.

Dave lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife, Lily, and their daughter, Emma Mei.

Jamie Foster

The more you stimulate your senses, the more you enjoy! This is how Jamie Foster, founder of vinstrategies.com, describes her approach to helping people become comfortable with wine.

Jamie's passion for wine blossomed during her studies at the prestigious Aspen Wine Program, the International Wine School, and New York's Institute of Culinary Education. Through London's Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), she has been awarded both the WSET Level 2 Intermediate Certificate and Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Wines, Spirits and other Alcoholic Beverages. Jamie also has completed the Winemaking for Distance Learners course offered by the world renown Department of Viticulture and Enology through the continuing education branch of the University of California, Davis. She is participating in London's WSET Diploma program.

Classes and wine tastings offered by Jamie can teach you to use your senses of sight, smell, taste and touch to distinguish the subtleties of wine. With glass in hand, she'll serve as your tour guide as you experience wines from vineyards in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Chile, Portugal and Germany. She'll also introduce you to domestic wines produced by wineries across the United States.

As a member of the Society of Wine Educators, Jamie enthusiastically shares her passion and knowledge about wine through consulting and education programs. She offers teleclasses as a component of the VinSenses Wine Education Series. Jamie also writes and publishes a wine newsletter and serves as a weekend sommelier at a local restaurant.Jamie holds a B.B.A in Information Systems from Howard University and a M.S. in Technology Management from the University of Maryland and uses those skills by day. She lives with her son in Bowie, Maryland.

Kelly Magyarics

Kelly Magyarics has been offering interactive, educational wine tastings for groups of all sizes for over five years. She has always enjoyed cooking and dining out, and she was bitten by the wine bug in 2001, when she completed Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Wine School in New York City (one of the last series of that course offered at the top of the World Trade Center), as well as a series of Master classes offered by the Sommelier Society of America. Kelly completed both the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Intermediate Certificate and Advanced Certificate courses through the Washington Wine Academy, and received a score of "Pass with Distinction" for all exams. Kelly has over ten years experience in the field of training and development, and she loves to share her passion for wine!

In addition, Kelly is also a wine and food writer. Kelly's wine articles have appeared in Wine Enthusiast, DC Metro Tribune, Washington Woman, and Imbibe magazine, among others. She also maintains a wine blog called "Kelly's Grape Times," which offers wine tips, news, suggestions and food pairings. Kelly can be reached through her website, which is www.trywine.net.

Kelly's philosophy is that wine is something to be paired with good food, good friends and good conversation. It should be approachable, not intimidating; fun, not stressful; and above all--enjoyable!

Tom Finigan, CSW

Tom Finigan has been in the wine business for 10 years in the Washington DC Metro Area, the Boston Metro Area and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He currently works as a wine distributor in Washington, representing small family wineries. Before that he was the Wine Director and General Manager of Buttterfield 9 downtown.

He moved to Washington two years ago leaving his position as Sommelier and Manager of Blue Ginger Restaurant, owned by James Beard award winning Chef and Food Network and PBS host, Ming Tsai. During his tenure at Blue Ginger, the restaurant won two Wine Spectator Awards and the wine list was noted as "Standout" by Boston Magazine. Also at this time, Tom served as the wine and beverage consultant on Ming Tsai's PBS cooking program "Simply Ming" and the companion cookbook "Ming's Master Recipes".

Tom holds the Advanced Certificate in Wines and Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and currently teaches the Intermediate Certificate - Level 2 courses for the Washington Wine Academy. Tom is a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) with the Society of Wine Educators. He is a member of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) and just recently passed his "Wine Century", a recognition for having tasted over 100 different grape varietals.

Additional Wine Speakers

The Washington Wine Academy is also proud to feature a number of very knowledgeable wine educators in the Washington, DC area. These folks are in the wine business in some way or another as wine buyers, wine sellers, wine aficionados, educators and all love wine in general.

Whatever the event - the Washington Wine Academy has the perfect speaker for your private wine tasting. Contact us and see what we can do for you to bring our love of wine into your home or business!

Washington Wine Academy Staff

Jim Barker

The man behind the Washington Wine Academy is President and Founder Jim Barker, whose fascination with wine is as extensive as his experience in staging interesting events; both extend to his college days nearly 20 years ago.

Our organization and faculty focus is on ensuring that you have a pleasurable, enriching experience.

Says, Barker, "It's great to give people an opportunity to have a wonderful evening, and it's due to our efforts."

Donald Culp

Like many of you, I am a wine enthusiast.

While my professional career has taken me down the path of nuclear engineering and over 23 years with the Air Force and the Department of Homeland Security, I have sustained a grounding in wine.

I have worked wine retail, poured wine at festivals, worked the crush at wineries, and am working my way up the academic ladder of the Wine & Spirits Education Trust through the Washington Wine Academy. My travels have allowed me to experience the wineries and vineyards of the Mosel, Alsace, Tuscany, Veneto, New Zealand, Northern California, Washington State, New Mexico, Virginia and Maryland.

During travel with my wife, I have enjoyed the freedom of “winging” our adventures through wine countries, but have frequently sought out local guides for personal tours in order to better make the connection with the local people, artisan foods, wine, history, arts and cultures.

This is culminating in the adventure of the purchase and restoration of a 250 years-old stone farmhouse cradled in the vines of the Euganei Hills of northern Italy. It is the connection and interplay between wine and people, between the vine and the mind, between wine and the other adventures in life, which has compelled me to join the Washington Wine Academy.

Mendy Figueroa

Mendy joins the Washington Wine Academy, providing part-time private event sales.

Mendy resides in Fairfax, VA with her husband and family. Having served as a contractor to the Federal government for several years, creating and maintaining databases, she joined America Online as a senior database administrator for AOL Operations. After years of managing the 24x7 operation of database systems in support of the worlds’ largest online service provider, Mendy decided to take some time off to enjoy the finer things in life!

Mendy cheerfully joins the academy with energy and enthusiasm!

Cyndy Nelson

Cyndy Nelson comes to the WWA as our Director of Marketing/Communications. Her responsibilities will include e-mail newlsetters and communication, design and administration of our CORK Club program.

Cyndy resides in New Jersey with her two teenage sons. Her energy, enthusiasm and computer skills make her a great addition to the WWA family. Prior employers include Bell Laboratories, Bell Atlantic Venture Services, Cap Gemini Dasd and the Boy Scouts of America. Cyndy enjoys photography, print and web design, programming and public relations.

We are thrilled to have her join us!

Richard W. "Will" Shore

Will Shore, Volunteer Coordinator for the Washington Wine Academy and former President of the DC Chapter of Wine Brats. Will has been active in wine and wine groups since 1999 and organizes fun, accessible events that allow attendees to begin their wine education in informal social settings. These include bus trips (to wineries and festivals), dinners, wine cruises, food & wine pairings (Fresh Harvest, Carnivore feast), the semi-annual Great Wines under $15 events and is always coming up with new and interesting events. If you are looking to host a private event with WWA - please email Mendy Figueroa and she will be glad to assist you.

After serving several years in the US Navy as a submarine officer, Will took a year off and drove around the United Sates visiting wineries and brewpubs where he developed a strong interest in wine, brewing, and a ridiculously large collection of glasses.

Will resides in Alexandria, VA along with Monster (his cat) and of course a lot of wine.

Niles Andrew Beckworth was born in Leeds, England as the fifth generation in family of butlers, service personnel and concierge. He was educated at the Hawthorne Academy for Young Gentleman, where he excelled in academics, sports and the art of tea service.

On a rugby tour to France for Hawthorne Academy, young Niles discovered four bottles of Grand Cru Burgundy smuggled onto the tour bus in the coach’s kit bag. His passion for wine was born by the time the third bottle was opened, and although he played horribly throughout the remainder of the tour, he delighted in learning everything he could about the cultivation of the vine.

Following an apprenticeship at Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and his eventual graduation from Cambridge University, Niles accepted a position in the international offices of Constellation Wines as a global service ambassador of goodwill, touring countless wine regions, meeting winery owners, servicing VIP dinners and parties, etc. Following his expansive and often legendary travels throughout the world, he published his best selling book “Zen and the Art of Wine & Food” and another on the secrets of superior guest relations called “At Your Service…” as an homage to his family’s background.

In 2002 Niles’ father, personal concierge to the Right Honorable Sir Nigel Melville, passed away, leaving Niles a substantial fortune and the option of early retirement. Wanting to keep in touch with his friends in the wine regions across the globe, Niles has graciously agreed to a volunteer position with the Washington Wine Academy, answering food and wine related trivia questions and arranging VIP services for our finest members, the CORK Club.