Patricia has been employed in the Wine and Spirits industry for over two decades. Throughout this time, she has accumulated numerous accreditations within the profession.

After graduating from George Brown College, School of Hospitality as a Sommelier, Patricia began importing wines into Canada. This led her to a job in St. Louis, Missouri working as a Sales Representative for a small start-up wine importer and distributor using her knowledge of Italian and French wines to expand the business. The opportunity presented itself to raise the wine knowledge in the St. Louis wine community by forming study groups to prepare other up-and-coming wine professionals for certifications to organizations such as The Court of Master Sommeliers, Society of Wine Educators and WSET.

Her reputation grew into the “go to” person for the beverage industry for the St. Louis area. Her expertise was sought as a judge for wine competitions – Missouri Governor’s Cup and Jefferson Cup – and Sommelier competitions – Chaine des Rotisseurs Young Sommelier Competition and most recently BUSA (Best American Sommelier). 

Through her studies to prepare for the Master Sommelier Diploma, CMS she became intrigued with sake. This took her down a new path to look at certifications in sake knowledge. At the time very little was known about sake in the St. Louis region but through her love of educating she has been able to again raise awareness and inspire other professionals to seek out education and certification. It has been encouraging to see consumers wanting more knowledge about sake.

Her goal is to bring St. Louis closer in line with other successful sake markets (such as the east and west coasts of America) by simultaneously educating restauranteurs and consumers alike.