With determination and dedication to match their talent, these 24 female Master Sommeliers are making their mark on the industry.
Julie Dalton
Like many people, Julie Dalton got into wine by accident. She discovered her passion for wine while waiting tables in undergrad at Texas A&M University. A career in biotechnology took her to Maryland, where she continued to study wine for fun and work in wine bars while completing a biotechnology graduate program at Johns Hopkins University. When she finished grad school, a friend was opening a restaurant and put the wine program in her care. Upon passing the Advanced Sommelier exam as well as the Certified Wine Educator exam in 2010, she decided to enter the wine industry full time. An opportunity to represent the Terry Theise portfolio for Michael Skurnik Wines presented itself, and she took the leap. But “sometimes it takes a big mistake to learn where you really belong,” she says. “I love restaurants. I love working the floor. That year working with Skurnik was a big milestone for me; I am so grateful to this day for that opportunity, but I was a fish out of water. It taught me so much.”
Dalton has worked at the Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore and for Michael Mina; in 2017, she joined the opening team at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston, helping to build its Wine Spectator Grand Award–winning wine list from the ground up. There she remains; meanwhile, after nine grueling attempts, she finally passed the MS exam in 2022.
Emily Wines
Emily Wines’ illustrious career in the world of wine began at the acclaimed Fifth Floor Restaurant in San Francisco. Joining the team in 2000, she quickly made her mark, contributing to the restaurant’s achievement of the prestigious Wine Spectator Grand Award. Starting as an assistant sommelier, she became wine director in 2003.
Wines passed the Advanced Sommelier exam in 2005, and in 2008, she achieved a significant milestone by passing the Master Sommelier exam on her first attempt. This triumph marked a turning point in her career, leading her to Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, where she assumed the role of senior director of beverage and bars. Here, she oversaw the wine programs for 65 unique restaurants and developed the company’s bar culture.
Today, Wines holds the position of vice president of wine experience for Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurant, where her multifaceted role encompasses not only education and mentorship but also spearheading innovative new wine concepts.
Wines’ commitment to the wine community extends beyond her professional roles. She served on the Court of Master Sommeliers’ (CMS) board of directors twice, first as exam committee chair from 2011 to 2013 and second as chair and vice chair from 2021 to 2023.
Laura DePasquale
Laura DePasquale, MS, began her career in hospitality for a fast-food chain but quickly moved into fine dining. Her first serious introduction to wine occurred in New York City and Miami Beach, where she worked as a bartender, waiter, beverage director, and eventually a sommelier. She was recruited by the Florida-based Palm Bay International as an Italian Wine Specialist in 2001.
Quickly she moved up through the ranks to director of business development and national fine wine sales director; in 2004, she achieved the Master Sommelier diploma. Committing to breaking the glass ceiling and becoming a role model for women in the wine industry, she was promoted in 2008 to vice president, fine wine, and earned her first seat at an executive table.
Presently, DePasquale is the senior vice president, artisanal wines, for Southern Glazer’s Wine &
Spirits (SGWS). Laura joined SGWS in 2015 and began a pilot division in Florida specifically focused on the importation and distribution of boutique and artisanal wines. Proof of concept led to the expansion of her program nationally as well as to a promotion in 2021 to her current senior leadership position.
A former vice chair of the CMS, Americas, board, DePasquale is an active examiner and lecturer for the organization. She serves as a mentor to many emerging leaders in both hospitality and distribution. She is a board member for the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale USA and vice chair of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s Women’s Leadership Council.
Sally Mohr
Sally Mohr’s wine career began in 1983 when she started working at The Boulder Wine Merchant, the first exclusive retail wine store in Colorado. As she recalls, “The small shop featured great European wines, and I became an eager student. My epiphany moment was tasting both the 1969 and 1979 Domaine de Montille Volnay Taillepieds and, being so blown away by the experience, I realized that wine was my true passion.”
In 1986, she partnered with fellow employee Wayne Belding to purchase the business from the original owner. Belding became a Master Sommelier in 1990; with his encouragement, Mohr soon began her own pursuit of the MS title.
A specific incident confirmed her unwavering commitment to that end: “I was at a lunch showcasing a notable wine producer,” she recalls. “Each time I asked this producer a question, he ignored me. Wayne, seeing my frustration, asked the same question and received a detailed answer. Finally, the importer representative, a supportive female, turned to the producer and demanded: ‘Please answer this woman’s questions!’”
In 1995, Mohr became the second female Master Sommelier in the United States. But as she puts it, “Achieving the title was not the end of my wine journey—just a notable waypoint in a continuing voyage of discovery across a universe of knowledge that continues to fascinate me.”
Catherine E. Fallis
Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis is a consumer-friendly global wine expert known for her down-to-earth, approachable style. For the past 15 months, she has led the sommelier team for data-driven wine discovery and production platform Bright Cellars. Hand-selected by CEO Joe Megibow, she reported to both the COO and the CMO, fulfilling responsibilities related to wine acquisition and content and education creation/delivery.
Fallis is the founder of Planet Grape LLC, a wine consulting firm providing content, reviews, corporate and private tastings, restaurant wine-program development, and speaking services. She created her alter ego, Grape Goddess, to help bring wine down to earth for consumers as well as those entering the wine industry, and launched Planet Grape Wine Review as the first female-led wine review platform in the U.S. Her latest book is Ten Grapes to Know: The Ten and Done Wine Guide.
Sara Floyd
Sara Floyd has had a varied and colorful career in the wine business, which began with working as an assistant to Larry Stone, the “dean” of American sommeliers, at San Francisco restaurant Rubicon. She then became wine director at Vertigo Restaurant, where she developed an award-winning wine list and worked with some of the city’s top chefs. In 1998, she took the position of wine director for Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio, among the most high-profile restaurants of its era in San Francisco.
Two years later, Martine Saunier of Martine’s Wines selected Floyd to run her national sales division. It soon became obvious to Floyd that her future was in the marketing and sale of wines. In 2001, she launched Swirl Wine Brokers in San Francisco, a statewide distributor and broker that carefully selects and represents wines from California, Washington, Oregon, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, and Austria. It has also been innovative in seeking out wines from Hungry, Switzerland, and Macedonia.
In 2007, Floyd launched Luli Wines with the Pisoni family, specializing in high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah from the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Finally—in addition to receiving her Master Sommelier diploma, the tenth woman in the world to do so—Floyd has also served as the national sales director for Jorge Ordóñez Selections, assisting Ordóñez in sampling and blending. She has traveled extensively throughout the wine regions of Spain.
June Rodil
Born in the Philippines and raised in Texas, June Rodil is CEO and partner of the Houston-based Goodnight Hospitality group. Founded in 2019, it includes retail shop Montrose Cheese & Wine; Rosie Cannonball, a 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine Program; and fine-dining venture MARCH, which was listed among the Best New Restaurants of 2021 in Esquire, named the No. 2 Restaurant in America in Robb Report’s Best of the Best 2022, and received a 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Best Chef Texas. Goodnight Hospitality will open The Marigold Club, its fourth concept, this year.
In her career, Rodil has teamed up with numerous James Beard Award winners and nominees as well as recipients of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs title to open over 20 hospitality concepts. She remains a partner in the eponymous June’s All Day, named one of Food & Wine’s Restaurants of the Year in 2017.
Rodil has garnered many other accolades, including Wine Enthusiast’s Sommelier of the Year in 2018 and 40 Under 40 in 2016; Food & Wine’s Sommelier of the Year in 2014 (she is the only person to have received the magazine’s awards for both Restaurant of the Year and Sommelier of the Year); StarChefs’ Rising Star Sommelier in 2012; Wine & Spirits’ Best New Sommelier in 2011; and TEXSOM Best Sommelier in 2009.
An avid sparkling wine drinker, she launched her own wine brand, June’s Brut Rosé, in 2017.
Virginia Philip
Residing as wine director at The Breakers Palm Beach, one of the United States’ most iconic luxury resorts, Virginia Philip is responsible for the continuous elevation of the 140-acre property’s award-winning wine program and cocktail culture. Since joining the company in 2000, she has expanded the resort’s impressive wine collection to more than 55,000 bottles and been the force behind The Breakers’ retention of two esteemed accolades: Wine Spectator’sGrand Award, which it has received since 1981, and the Best of Award of Excellence, which has gone to the property’s Flagler Steakhouse since 2014.
In 2011, Philip became an entrepreneur with the debut of the Virginia Philip Wine Spirits & Academy in Palm Beach, also in Florida’s Palm Beach. Her namesake retail boutique features over 1,000 wine selections, an extensive collection of spirits, weekly education programs, and guest appearances from national and international winemakers. In January 2024, Philip opened a Delray Beach location.
Throughout her 23-year tenure at the resort, Philip has earned many of the industry’s most respected distinctions in addition to the title of Master Sommelier: She was named Best Sommelier in America by the American Sommelier Association in 2002; was nominated by the eminent James Beard Foundation in the Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional category in 2012; received an honorary doctorate in enology from her alma mater, Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, in 2015; and was named among the most 50 influential women in the wine and spirits industry by the Women in Wine & Spirits Association in 2020.
Élyse Lambert
Born in Montréal, Québec, Élyse Lambert graduated with a degree in hotel management from the prestigious Institut de Tourisme et d’Hôtellerie du Québec in 1998 and from the Sommellerie program from L’École Hôtelière des Laurentides in 1999.
Since then, she has worked as a sommelier at some of the most respected restaurants in Québec while earning accolades in Canadian and international competitions. After winning Best Sommelier of Québec in 2004 and taking third place in a national competition in 2006, she won the title of Best Sommelier of the Americas 2009 at the renowned competition held in Buenos Aires. At the Best Sommelier of the World competition in 2010 in Chile, Lambert reached the semifinal round, which put her among the top 12 sommeliers in the world.
In May 2015, in she became the first Québecer, the fourth Canadian, and the second Canadian woman to earn the globally recognized title of Master Sommelier.
After winning Best Sommelier of Canada in 2015, she again represented her home country in the competition for Best Sommelier of the World in Argentina. In 2016, she became the fifth best sommelier in the world.
Lambert, who has been in the restaurant industry for more than 25 years, is currently working as a sommelier consultant for The Ritz-Carlton Toronto. She also consults for private and corporate clients and is often invited to facilitate wine education seminars and to speak at corporate functions around the world.
Madeline Triffon
Says Madeline Triffon, “I worked my way through college in restaurants—bartender, server, cook—and was offered the position of sommelier at age 21 thanks to a good French accent! I entered two Sopexa competitions (Best French Sommelier), did well, and was invited to take the Master Sommelier Advanced course and exam in 1987. There was no process at the time; it was the first year these were held in the U.S. Since then, I’ve held two wine director positions in the metro Detroit area. In 2011, I transitioned to retail, working for an independent wine retailer and running consumer events.”
Maddy Jimerson
A family trip to Italy when Maddy Jimerson was 9 would eventually steer her toward a future in wine. Experiencing a deep connection to the place, its people, and its lifestyle, she made it her mission to learn Italian.
Jimerson received a BA from Cornell University, where she studied hotel management and Italian simultaneously. Her professional career began in 2013 with Lyra Wine, a California-based importer of artisanal Italian producers; she then took on the role of brand ambassador for Minerality Wines, representing both Roberto Voerzio and Bibi Graetz. A six-month stint staging at various wineries in Piedmont and Sicily followed, after which she moved to Aspen, Colorado, where she passed her Advanced exam on her second attempt in 2019 and was named a Rudd Scholar for achieving the top score. She passed the theory portion of the Master Sommelier exam in 2021, and in 2022 she passed the tasting and practical sections.
In 2017, Jimerson started her own film production company, Winomad Productions, to make films that focus on Italy’s lesser-known wine regions, sharing the stories behind the bottles. It’s part of her goal to make wine “more approachable, more fun, and more relatable,” as she puts it, along with “aim[ing] to support other females in the industry.”
Andrea Robinson
Andrea Robinson, one of the country’s leading wine educators and the first woman to have been designated Best Sommelier in the United States by the Sommelier Society of America, is also an honors graduate of the International Culinary Center and sommelier for Delta Air Lines. She is the winner of three James Beard Awards and was named Wine & Spirits Professional of the Year by Bon Appétit in 2004.
After passing the Master Sommelier exam on her second attempt in 1997, Robinson went on to teach and coordinate many Introductory, Advanced, and Master Sommelier courses while working at Windows on the World in New York City and at Starwood Hotels. She has written four top-selling wine and food books, including Everyday Dining with Wine, which won a prestigious IACP cookbook award. She launched the Court’s partner certification program with the Institute of Culinary Education (formerly the French Culinary Institute) as the school’s first Dean of Wine Studies. She has also created her own groundbreaking stemware, The One, which is used by Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Ornellaia for their U.S. trade and media tastings.
Robinson has hosted and/or appeared in more than 100 TV episodes, including in Pairings with Andrea on the Fine Living network. She was featured on the cover of Working Mother magazine, which named her Working Mother of the Year, and she has been profiled in People, Glamour, Elle, The New York Times, Food & Wine, and many other publications.
To learn more, visit Robinson’s website at andreawine.com.
Gillian Ballance
Gillian Ballance, MS, DWS, is an acclaimed wine expert with over 20 years of experience directing esteemed wine programs at top restaurants, hotels, and resorts across the United States. Currently the national education manager at Treasury Wine Estates, she counts among her career highlights managing wine services at New York City’s The Rainbow Room and Windows of the World, The Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara, Bottega Napa Valley, and Cavallo Point in San Francisco .
In addition to receiving her Master Sommelier diploma in 2012, Ballance also holds a diploma in wines and spirits from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET). An approved WSET wine educator, Ballance shares her expertise by lecturing and leading seminars nationwide and has been featured in Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, and various trade publications. Recently she was appointed to the James Beard Foundation’s beverage advisory board and the CMS’ board of directors.
Laura Williamson
Over the course of her career, Laura Williamson has directed Italian and German wine imports and sales across the U.S.; worked as chef sommelier at Jean-Georges in New York City, which received three Michelin stars and four stars from The New York Times during her tenure; and served as beverage director of the Mandarin Oriental, New York, a Forbes Five Star property. She was also contracted to open Aman New York as a consulting beverage director for all venues (Japanese restaurant Nama, Italian restaurant Arva, and three bars as well as room service and a private club).
Jennifer Huether
Jennifer Huether’s love affair with wine started in her early 20s when she took an interest course at her local college. From there, she immediately leaped into studies with the International Sommelier Guild, from which she graduated at the top of her class. She went on to receive a diploma from WSET before becoming Canada’s first female Master Sommelier in 2011.
In addition to her vast restaurant industry experience, Huether has also worked for the Canadian-owned Napa Valley winery Cliff Lede Vineyards, and for seven years, she ran the multimillion-dollar wine program at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in Toronto while mentoring the property’s 11 sommeliers. She was also recently employed with California-based Jackson Family Wines, representing its brands throughout Canada.
After winning the Ontario Sommelier Competition in 2006, Huether sat on the board of directors of Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers Ontario as well as Femmes du Vin, where she served as education chair. She is also an active teacher within the Court of Masters, mentors several Advanced and Master Sommelier candidates throughout North America, and teaches with WSET. Additionally, Huether co-authored a book with Priya Rao, The Social Herbivore: Perfect Pairings for Plant-Based Cuisine.
Today, Huether works as director of product education for SGWS in Las Vegas, Nevada, while mentoring at the nonprofit VinEquity.
Mia Van de Water
Mia Van de Water is a Master Sommelier and the director of beverage operations and education at Gracious Hospitality Management, where the wine program she designed with Victoria James was nominated for a James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Service in 2023.
A restaurant industry veteran with a career spanning over two decades, Van de Water spent nine years with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, where her journey in wine began; during her tenure as beverage director for North End Grill (2012–2017), she passed the Intro, Certified, and Advanced exams—earning a Rudd Scholar nod and a Johnston Medal along the way—as well as the theory and service portions of the Master Sommelier exam. She was named one of Food & Wine’s Sommeliers of the Year in 2016.
In 2017, Van de Water joined the sommelier team at the three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, passing the tasting portion of her exam the following year. As part of her preparation for the exam, she was an active contestant at the regional and national levels in both TopSomm and the Chaîne de Rôtisseurs sommelier competitions. She has served on the board of directors for the CMS, Americas, since 2020.
Kathryn Morgan
Kathryn Morgan is the director of wine education, East region, for SGWS. Based in New York City, she designs wine seminars, oversees nationally recognized wine certification programs, and creates light-bulb moments for SGWS employees in New York; Washington, D.C.; and Pennsylvania through her effective and engaging teaching style.
Morgan began her wine career as a sommelier in Washington, D.C., gaining over 15 years of experience in several of the city’s best restaurants. After passing her Advanced exam in 2003, she co-founded a D.C.-based tasting group that still operates under new leadership and has produced seven Master Sommeliers (so far). In 2010, she passed the Master Sommelier examination. Morgan was appointed as vice chair and education chair on the CMS board of directors, where she served from 2021 to 2023.
Rebecca Fineman
Says Rebecca Fineman, “How did I end up here? I was in my mid-20s, on a predictable academic route, and my life seemed set. I’d teach and write research papers forever. It was a future that made my stomach turn because I knew it didn’t excite me. I thought I might enjoy publishing because I loved to read, but that, too, wasn’t what I expected. A lot of things aren’t what we expect and sometimes that’s a good thing.
“I got a job in a restaurant, thinking that, at the very least, it’d be fun, and quite possibly I’d overcome my shyness. It was unexpected that I would love it as much as I did. I learned about food; I learned about culture, farming, and history. It fascinated me. I started to taste wine in a way I never had before and I tried wines, like Sherry, that transported me to other places. I read about wine in my free time, and daydreamed about places near and far. At that time, I didn’t think this would be my future. I thought it was fun in the moment and that one day I would want return to academia.
“Over time I started to notice people with careers in wine—wine directors, beverage managers, wine writers, importers, distributors, educators. Unlike my previous pursuits, my interest in wine hadn’t waned. If anything, I loved it as much as I did when I first started learning. I made a conscious choice to pursue this and turn it into a career. I didn’t know exactly what that would look like, but I’m glad I tried.”
Mariya Kovacheva
Born and raised in Bulgaria’s Thrace winegrowing region, Mariya Kovacheva never imagined she was destined to become a wine professional until she moved to the United States.
During her career, she has acquired an intimate understanding of the restaurant industry through diverse roles in top U.S. establishments such as The Pearl in Nantucket, Massachusetts; Rebecca’s and L’Escale in Greenwich, Connecticut; and Cafe Boulud in Palm Beach, Florida, where she served as head sommelier.
In addition to the Master Sommelier diploma, Kovacheva holds a WSET diploma in wine and spirits and an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School; she is now studying at the Institute of Masters of Wine.
In her current role as the North America wine education manager for Pernod Ricard, Kovacheva applies her experience to shaping the company’s approach to education while gaining a deep understanding of the spirits business sector.
Randa Warren
Randa Warren has been involved in the wine business for over 25 years. She started taking WSET courses through the International Wine Center in New York in 1998 and received the WSET diploma in 2001. During this period, Warren also embarked on a rigorous journey with the CMS, gaining her Advanced Sommelier title in 2000 on her first attempt in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the spring of 2001, she became a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators in the United States; fewer than 150 people hold this prestigious title. And in 2007, she became the 16th female Master Sommelier in the world.
Warren conducts private seminars and classes for financial institutions, business organizations, country clubs, resorts, museums, and private wine collectors around the country. She also hosts international wine trips with Kobsey Travel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and assists the CMS in conducting Master Sommelier examinations around the country.
She has been a member of Le Tastevin du Bourgogne for over 25 years and currently holds the position of commandeur du Tastevin.
Emily Pickral
Emily Pickral’s career in wine began just out of college, when a burgeoning interest in wine led her to a job at Gramercy Tavern in New York City. For the past 20 years, she has held various sales and marketing roles in the wine industry, working for importers, distributors, and California wineries.
Pickral’s passion for learning about wine also encouraged her to embark upon the journey to becoming a Master Sommelier. In 2009, she enrolled in the CMS’ Introductory course; in 2010, she passed the Advanced exam on her first attempt and was awarded the Rudd Scholarship for the highest score. She received her Master Sommelier diploma in 2013, becoming the 19th woman in the world to earn the title. In addition, Pickral has a WSET diploma and a BA in literature from the University of Virginia.
Pickral has worked for Jackson Family Wines since 2014. As vice president, she leads the company’s field marketing team, developing and implementing marketing and sales campaigns across the country.
Melissa Monosoff
A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Melissa Monosoff honed her skills as a cook, sommelier, bartender, and beverage director at top restaurants in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including The Fountain Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel, Striped Bass, and Savona in Gulph Mills.
Monosoff earned her Master Sommelier diploma in February 2010, becoming the 17th woman in the world to hold this title. Her passion for all things wine- and beer-related has earned her several accolades. Philadelphia Magazine named her Best Sommelier two years in a row; Wine & Spirits recognized her as one of America’s Best Young Sommeliers; and she was a James Beard Foundation nominee for Outstanding Wine Service. She has been education director for the CMS since 2013, and in 2020 was nominated as the Vinitaly IWSC Wine Communicator of the Year.
In 2018, her first book, Stuff Every Wine Snob Should Know, was published by Quirk Books; it was sold worldwide and translated into four languages. In 2019, it was reprinted and repackaged by Hallmark.
Monosoff is also a recognized name in the beer community as a Certified Cicerone.
Claudia Tyagi
Following a career in the wine industry spanning several decades, Claudia Tyagi is now retired. Most recently, she served as buyer and event manager for a Black woman–owned wine shop in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Engaging with guests and introducing them to new wines was a source of great joy and fulfillment. Prior to that, she spent nearly a decade at an independent fine-dining establishment housed within a century-old mansion in Detroit. In addition to overseeing dining operations, she had the honor of crafting an extensive wine list and refining the wine service program.
Beginning her career in the late 1970s, Tyagi had the opportunity to taste the best of the best; great wines were readily accessible during that era. Consequently, she developed a deep understanding and appreciation for high-quality wines, for which she remains immensely grateful. Along the way, she was invited to take the Master Sommelier exam. Encouraged by peers and mentors within the industry, she embraced the challenge, drawing on what was at the time over a decade of floor experience as a sommelier. When speaking with aspiring sommeliers, Tyagi emphasizes the importance of hands-on experience on the floor: “There’s no substitute for learning service through practical application and guest interaction,” she says.
Barbara Werley
Barbara Werley, who was the first graduate of the Culinary Institute of America to pass the Master Sommelier exam in 1997, has spent her career working the floor in resorts, casinos and restaurants. After 15 years with Pappas Bros. Steakhouse in Dallas, Texas, which received a Wine Spectator Grand Award during her tenure, she is now with a new company opening a steakhouse.
