Where's the Wine?

My name is Michelle Bainbridge and I want to help you experience the “wine lifestyle” around the world.

I have had a career in wine sales and marketing and am still involved in marketing, consumer wine education and wine judging. I have visited wine-producing regions throughout Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the U.S. (many countries several times). I love helping wine lovers experience my favorite places and people. Let me help you by searching through hundreds of digital resources and curating them into what is truly valuable to you. Of course, I will always share my personal opinions and experiences as well as provide continuing wine education to develop your appreciation of wine. 

Whether you have limited time and budget or have more time and means to travel, I think you will find something we have in common. I have more time than means so I challenge myself to make the most of frequent flyer and other travel loyalty programs. I have a fixed travel budget, so the more resourceful I am, the more places I can experience each year.

Have you ever dreamed of changing your job, and therefore your life? In 1997 I took a hard look at my career and identified that I needed to make a major change if I was going to have a positive impact on my future. I looked at the things I loved doing; eating, drinking, traveling and spending time with friends. Next was “how do I get paid to do that?”. I looked around and discovered a career in beer, wine and spirits sales to restaurants. Boom. I got to talk about food and wine all day and build strong relationships with my customers. After all, the brands I built were all about compelling stories. In the case of wines, each was about people and places. I took every opportunity to travel to wineries around the world and I loved telling their stories first-hand. I look forward to sharing these stories with you.