Stewards of Virginia Wine – Trade Recognition

Robey Martin is one of Virginia’s food personalities with over 18 years in food journalism. She is a food reviewer for Style Weekly (2004- present) and writes about dining and drinking for multiple publications both locally, nationally and internationally. See her bylines in Eater.com, Beer Advocate,  Late Checkout, Richmond Magazine, Virginia Living, CBS and more. Outside of work, she is the co-founder of The Holli Fund, a non-profit supporting food industry workers in crisis. Follow her at @callmerobey on Instagram.

Tassie Pippert is an Emmy-winning creator, producer, and host of the PBS series, Un-Wine’d.  A faculty emerita of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Tassie is the recipient of the international Herman Breithaupt Award for outstanding contributions to culinary arts education.  Her teaching expertise has allowed her to travel with her students to France, Scotland, Ireland, England, Turkey, Sicily, Greece, and numerous states in the US.  She currently serves as a member of the Culinary Center Instructional Team for Oceania and Regent Cruise Lines where she travels the globe teaching “The Finest Cuisine at Sea!” As Faculty Member in Residence for JMU, she served for two semester-abroad experiences in Florence Italy.  Tassie is an active member in her community having served on the boards of her local hospital, Explore More Discovery Museum, and Blue Ridge Community College. A Certified Chef Emerita and a Certified Specialist of Wine, Tassie enjoys sharing her skills pairing food and wine.  She is a restaurant consultant and serves as Chef in Residence at Monty’s in Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg. Married nearly 50 years to her college sweetheart, Tom, the two spend all their spare time enjoying their Portland Oregon-based granddaughters, Chloe (3) and Isabella (7).

Neal Wavra, proprietor and sommelier at Field & Main Restaurant in Marshall, Virginia has a distinguished career in the wine and hospitality industry and is a passionate supporter of the Virginia wine industry.

Prior to opening Field & Main, Wavra was host and sommelier at The Riverstead, in Chilhowie, Virginia run by Michelin starred chefs John Shields and Karen Urie. In addition, he ran the Inn and wine program at The Ashby Inn & Restaurant in Paris, Virginia. 

He came up through the ranks managing the dining room at Charlie Trotters in Chicago, Illinois and Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. Wavra holds degrees from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California; and Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

Wavra is the recipient of the Commanderie de Bordeaux Wine Scholarship and the Kopf Foundation Wine Excellence Scholarship. He is the present director for the Loudoun County Wine Competition and participates as a final round judge for the Virginia Governor’s Cup competition.

Kathy Wiedemann is a wine educator, judge, board member, student, and ambassador holding WSET Advanced and Champagne Specialist credentials. A passionate advocate for local wine, she shares the stories, people, and bottles that make the region’s wine scene so compelling.

Jay Youmans has been involved in the sales, importation, and distribution of wine for over four decades. He began his career as a sommelier at The Salem Cotton Company, one of the first restaurants in the USA to receive a Wine Spectator Magazine award. From 1990 until 1998, he was the Mid-Atlantic Sales Manager for Southern Slopes International. At the end of 1998, Jay started Rock Creek Wine Merchants, LLC, a sales and marketing consultancy which he owned until 2020. He has owned and managed the Capital Wine School in Washington, DC since 2008.

Jay has judged wine for the Starwine International Wine Competition, The Atlantic Wine Competition, the Mid-Atlantic Competition, The Dallas Morning News, and The California State Fair. He was Director of the Virginia Governor’s Cup Wine Competition for 12 years.

Jay is an accredited Burgundy Wine Educator by the Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB), and an accredited Bordeaux Wine Educator by the Conseil Interprofessionnel du Vin de Bordeaux (CIVB). His certifications include: Certified Wine Educator (CWE -Society of Wine Educators); Advanced Level Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers), French Wine Scholar (FWS – Wine Scholar Guild), and Master of Wine (MW – The Institute of Masters of Wine). He passed the MW exam in 2004, receiving the Vina Errazuriz Trophy for the best paper on the Business of Wine. He served as an examiner for the Master of Wine practical paper for 13 years.

Doug Zerbst has been in the wine business for a long while now… When he first started, the job of wine steward was granted to him not because of his keen wine knowledge or discerning palate, but rather his breathtakingly authentic pronunciation of French wine labels.  In his years in and around wine, he has worked as a chef, sommelier, hotel manager, and as a wine wholesaler.  In his current role as VP of Fine Wine for Republic National Distributing Co of Virginia in Richmond, Doug works with a highly wine-educated sales team that feels there is nothing more fun than stumping the boss with arcane wine questions and obscure blind tastings.

Doug has close involvement with hundreds of domestic and international suppliers and wineries.  He also has a passion for supporting the Virginia wine industry, and has been serving on the board of the Virginia Wine Distribution Co for several years.  Each winter, he enjoys the interaction with the other judges on the Governor’s Cup panel, which he has proudly served on for over 10 years.

When he is not working, he loves spending time with his wife Petra and his English Shepherd poring over his collection of capsules de Champagne.  His love of food, wine, restaurants, and European travel has him achingly close to the milestone of accumulating 100 Michelin stars.