Why Green Pin Wines?
It's about the journey...
Green Pin Wines was named as an homage to the Advanced Sommelier certification with the Court of Master Sommeliers. While recent publicity has brought a lot of attention to the Master Sommelier title little is known publicly about the 'Green Pin'. There are fewer than 1000 who hold the title 'Advanced Sommelier' and thousands more working towards the certification. Many of the world's top wine programs are run by Advanced sommeliers who are deep in the business of buying wine, balancing spreadsheets, training staff and delighting guests working on the floor nightly. The name of this company is a tip of the hat to those hard working professionals and to the Certified and Intro sommeliers studing hard to join their ranks. A large part of the task of Green Pin Wines is to support those individuals with great wines they can use to make their programs stronger and also in direct assistance through mentoring and scholarships to help them achieve their goals.
Our Team
Scott, like many wine professionals, came to wine indirectly. He was a student of Art History in college living in Italy and 'wasting time in museums and churches'. He later went to New York to work in the art business with auction houses including Sotheby's and Christie's as a specialist in paintings and vintage guitars. Scott developed connoisseurship skills to identify quality across many genres which later became invaluable in wine.
While living in San Francisco working for Butterfield's Scott began to explore wine country and was drawn to studying wine by many of the same aspects that made art interesting (history, culture, place). Later, upon moving back to his native Texas he started working in retail shops before making the move complete by taking a position as wine director at Stephan Pyles Restaurant in Dallas.
Scott's enthusiasm for wine grew and included stints at The French Laundry in Napa Valley, The Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and various other restaurants working with Chef John Tesar. He won the Texsom Texas Best Sommelier competition in 2008 and was named Dallas Best Sommelier by D Magazine the same year. He also worked in distribution representing many of Napa's most exclusive wineries and Europe's finest estates in the Rosenthal portfolio. He ran the top wine department in Dallas' largest retail chain, Centennial, traveling to Europe to Bordeaux en-premier, negotiate large purchases in Burgundy and blended exclusive wines for the chain.
Scott left Texas to move to Napa to take over the Wine Education program for Meadowood Napa Valley, America's top wine resort. He immersed himself into studying Napa and developed strong relationships with many top wineries. He has also worked in importing and distribution in California. Now with Green Pin Wines, Scott can continue to champion great small wineries while sharing his experience with upcoming sommeliers.
Scott began his path with the Court of Master Sommeliers in 2006 with Intro and then Certified in 2007. He passed Advanced on his first attempt in 2009 in Chicago and first sat the Master exam in Dallas in 2011. Scott passed Theory and Service before resetting on Tasting in 2013. After a hiatus he returned in 2017 to pass Theory again and passed Service and Tasting parts in 2018. He was part of the infamous Master Sommelier class of 2018 and no longer officially maintains the title of MS despite being cleared of wrongdoing by the Court. He currently has no plans to re-sit the exam.