Allow me to introduce myself.  I am Mary Alfieri Studt and I have been connected to the wine and grape business since I was a child. My grandfather, a Sicilian immigrant, produced his own wine for years.  The wine equipment still remains in the family today. My dad was a grape grower in the fertile San Joaquin valley in California from the 1940’s to the 1970’s.

It was in the 1970’s when I left home to attend college at Fresno State University, where I earned my degree in enology- the study of wine production. As I emerged into the world of wine in 1976, there were very few women involved in the wine industry. For the first 5 years of my wine career, I worked for one of the largest wineries in the world and learned much about quality assurance, quality control and production in the cellar.

In the early 1980’s, my husband’s company relocated us, and I became immersed in the newly developing wine industry in the Southeast U.S.  I became deeply involved in the research and development of new grapes and wines.  I then stayed busy with research and winemaking for the next 15 years while raising 2 children along the way.

Now that I’m firmly entrenched in the Northwest, I decided to share my knowledge and passion by teaching wine education classes. Until now, I've taught classes for various wine shops and colleges intending to increase knowledge of the wines in the beautiful Northwest.

So here we are!  Come join us on our exploration of wine from the great Northwest and beyond.

Choose a class or take a tour and get the real dirt on wine.