About

Bertrand Blanchez

Born and raised in Bordeaux (France), I “sipped” my first glass of wine at the age of two and had a glass of Château Petrus in my hands by the age of twelve. Pretty nice start don’t you think…? Well, to be honest with you I don’t really remember any of these and probably did not care much about what I was sipping at the time… shame!

Many years and many sips after, I have cultivated a strong interest for wines and spirits from around the world, and I finally get to remember what I drink (at least for the most part)! The most exciting part is that I get to meet new producers, discover new wines, taste new spirits & create new cocktails almost every day and share these unique experiences with the ones I love the most. That’s what it’s all about.

To give you some more information on my background… I left my native country of France in 2010 to live in England and Argentina before getting a Brand Ambassador position in New York and establish Brooklyn as my home base in 2013. Since then, I have been working as a marketing manager for several wine & spirit producers from around the world, and recently left my last corporate position to refocus on my true passion for Wines and Spirits education and storytelling.

Where do I stand right now?

1. As a learning Sommelier, I am currently on the the same path as some of the greatest Master Sommeliers I have worked with and looked up to for years. My goal is to share the stories of wine & spirit producers from around the world with as many listeners as possible.

2. As a Cocktail enthusiast, I enjoy “trying out things” at home and partner with world renowned bartenders curating new cocktails and educating consumers for some of the biggest brands out there.

3. As an Ambassador for small producers and brands, I help them connect with the US trade to make sure their stories get told and resonate in consumer’s minds.

Along my path, I have cultivated a deep appreciation for sharing wines, spirits and cocktail with others. Connecting with people, creating memories and learning/sharing unique producers’ stories are the things I have always enjoyed the most in my work. It became time for me to take it one step further and share my learning experiences with the world !

 


The Spirited Somm

The Spirited Somm is both a personal brand and content-driven platform that I created in 2018 with one idea in mind: To make wines and spirits easy and accessible to everybody.

While this utopian idea seemed a little pretentious at first, I figured that referencing my own learning curve and sharing my experiences along the way could at least help educate and/or inspire a few. I also figured that my former experiences in the heart of the industry could help smaller producers get their product listed and their stories resonate with their consumers. I therefore created The Spirited Somm and defined my contribution to this task as two major components:

  1. Create an experience-based, content-driven platform 100% dedicated to Wines, Spirits and Cocktails education.
  2. Offer a series of specific services to help producers from all around the world get their product seen and their stories heard by consumers.

This platform acts as a one-stop-shop resource for both, as well as a personal reference to my own journey into the Wines & Spirits world. Hopefully, it will serve its goal and help some people out!

For more information about me and/or The Spirited Somm, feel free to contact me.