Andrea Robinson (or Andrea Immer-Robinson) is an American
sommelier, chef, television personality, and author. She is one of thirty-two women Master Sommeliers in the world and was the first woman to be named by the Sommelier Society of America as the best sommelier in the United States, which occurred in 1997.[1][2][3] She has been the recipient of three
James Beard Awards.[2]
Personal life and education
Andrea Immer was born and raised in
Southern Indiana.[4] She has enjoyed cooking and food since she was a child. When she was in college she took a
wine tasting class at a restaurant in
Dallas, Texas. The class was a catalyst for Robinson, instigating her passion for wine.[2] She studied economics and finance and graduated with her economics degree from
Southern Methodist University.[2][5] She worked for
Morgan Stanley as an
investment banker. She started to volunteer at a local wine shop, pouring wine. She took free classes and met wine industry people. Robinson did a wine tasting for
Champagne Krug one day.[2] The next day she quit her job at Morgan Stanley to pursue a career in wine. After quitting, she traveled through Europe by train and foot in 1990, with the goal to learn more about wine.[2][6] She remained for six months, staying in
hostels. She returned and started working in the wine industry.[2] Robinson graduated from the
International Culinary Center.[7] She eventually became
dean of wine studies at the institution.[7][8] Robinson lives in
Napa Valley, California.[9] She is married and has three children, Lucas, Jesse, and Jack.[10]
Career
After returning from Europe, Robinson started working in the wine department at the
Windows on the World in New York City. She was mentored by
Kevin Zraly. Eventually she became the first female cellar master at the restaurant and she eventually earned her Master Sommeliers Diploma. She also competed in the World Championship of Sommeliers.[2] The earning of her diploma made her, at that time, one of eighteen women master sommeliers in the world.[3] She would become the Beverage Director and Cellarmaster of the
Windows on the World.[7] She was also the Corporate Director of Beverage Programs at
Starwood.[11]
Since 2008, Robinson has served as the master sommelier for
Delta Air Lines.[2] With Delta, Robinson is responsible for tasting approximately 2,000
California wines to select 30 wines for
business class and
first class passengers.[2][12] She tasted a selection of the 2,000 wines both on land and also while flying in an airplane to compare how altitude affects wine tasting.[13]