Cedar Stoltenow

Cedar Stoltenow began her career in wine in 2017, after leaving the field of computational linguistics in search of a more balanced life. Cedar passed the WSET levels 2 and 3 within the year, and spent 2018 working harvests in both New Zealand and Napa Valley. Currently she works at Binny's Beverage Depot in downtown Chicago, where she oversees the French and Spanish wine sections. In addition to her day job, Cedar also runs her own wine education and consulting business, Un Pot de Vin, which offers private wine education, event planning, and sommelier services, as well as contributing regularly to wine/food blogs around the world. Her writing is featured regularly on the cellar.asia and F.N. Sharp blogs. Working in wine offers allows Cedar to share her love of wine, food, and travel with others, creating sensory experiences that make lasting memories.

“I am thrilled beyond belief to receive the E& J Gallo Fuel Your Dreams scholarship! Thanks to Gallo's generous support I will be able to further invest in and develop my business with the goal of making wine more accessible, understandable, and above all, fun, for others. My passion is creating an experience around wine that brings people together, making the wine world more inclusive and approachable. I am very honored to receive this scholarship and I will make good use of it.”