About Us

The Educated Grape was born of a desire to, well… educate, but most of all to share in our passion for wine. To dive into the joys and beautiful nuances of wine, in a way that anyone can feel welcome to join in on the conversation.

With our virtual and live classes and events, our goal is to instill confidence in wine enthusiasts with knowledge and insight.

How do we deliver this?

  • Curating a wide range of interactive classes and Masterclasses throughout the year to help each wine enthusiast to grow on their journey of wine appreciation.

  • Organizing exciting and informative Wine Country Experiences to enable our community to explore the country’s most prestigious wine & food institutions alongside other passionate consumers.

  • Partnering with small, family-owned wineries we feel strong about seeing grow. All the producers we partner with share our passion for quality, authenticity, and integrity, while embracing the importance of educating consumers.

Meet the TEG Team

George Staikos

PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

Angelica Blickenderfer

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Erin Mosier

REGIONAL WINE SALES MANAGER

Anthony Staikos

CONTENT MANAGER

The Journey to The Educated Grape…

I am truly fortunate for the fact that my passion is my vocation… wine and food appreciation and education. I realized this at a fairly young age, having earned my bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management.  Wine was always part of the family meal and dinner table. Simple wines, often Greek wines, which represent our heritage. Food and gathering around the table with family and friends was very important and filled with great memories.

Creating The Educated Grape has been a life-long dream built from amazing experiences and people along the way. Creating programs, events and classes teaching topics and themes that raise your level of knowledge with the goal of instilling confidence thus a greater level of appreciation. The content that we offer and the connection that we try to create between wine, food and people have been shaped from amazing experiences in the industry over the last 32 years… 

My professional career started in the hospitality industry, having worked 10 wonderful years developing award-winning wine programs for Four Seasons Hotels (Washington DC, New York City, Santa Barbara) as well as Hilton’s only AAA Five Diamond hotel (Hilton Short Hills in New Jersey). These experienced helped me to realize that my love of wine would become my new career path. 

The next 22 years of my career have been dedicated to the wine industry; directing and helping grow the distribution and sales of family-owned wineries in the finest restaurants and retailers across the country. These wineries included iconic producers in both Napa Valley and Sonoma County; Jordan Vineyard & Winery, Quintessa, Faust, and Ramey Wine Cellars. Helping to grow these brands in many of the nation’s top markets was especially meaningful, working with a high integrity families and legendary winemakers driven by quality. 

Thank you for your interest in The Educated Grape and our community of passionate wine and food enthusiasts. Your interest fuels our passion for providing interactive and memorable programs.

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