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Doreen Winkler
Doreen’s career as a sommelier and natural wine expert has taken her across the globe to New York City, Davos, Hamburg and Sydney. With nearly more than a decade of experience working front of house and as a consultant, she has gained extensive expertise in restaurant operations and developed strong buying connections that allow her to source highly allocated wines.
At just 22, Doreen came to her first position as sommelier and wine buyer at the Atlantic Hotel in Hamburg overseeing their global wine list. Later, she became the wine director for all the outlets at the Intercontinental Hotel in Hamburg, and then joined the team of Michelin starred “Das Kleine Rote.” In her role as wine director, she organized dinners featuring Chateau Margaux and other illustrious Bordeaux and Burgundy houses. During this time, Doreen studied at the German Wine Institute in Mainz and visited many winemakers. Eager to explore the U.S. wine market, she worked at The Grand Hotel Mackinac Island in Michigan for a season. Rounding out her experience, she then moved to Australia to work in top restaurants in Sydney before returning to New York.
Natural Wine Expert
In 2013, she turned her focus to natural wine and joined forces with Chef Fredrik Berselius of Aska to build an entirely natural wine program, which was quite rare at the time. The restaurant quickly garnered rave reviews and was awarded its first Michelin star while Doreen was on the team. The wine list was a particular highlight and its success made Doreen realize that she had discovered a unique niche in the wine market – one that she would make her name in. Since Aska, Doreen has worked with Aldea, Sel Rrose, Prime Meats, Lupulo, Fig 19, Bar Glory and others to create successful wine programs that garner media attention, build customer loyalty and increase revenues. This work led to Doreen being named by Forbes as one of “America's Top Sommeliers” in 2016.
Doreen consults on various wine programs for restaurants and retailers on a retainer basis. She is also the Founder of Orange Glou, an orange wine subscription service that delivers a highly curated, personal selection of the most interesting and distinct orange wines in the world. Doreen also hosts monthly Orange Glou wine bar popups around the country.
Doreen is continually educating herself on natural wine, from trends to new winemaking techniques to new producers arriving in the U.S. She also works harvest every year, having previously assisted at Lucy Margaux (Adelaide Hills, Australia), Domaine du Comte Liger Belair (Burgundy, France), Yetti and the Kokonut (Barossa Valley, Australia), Folias de Baco (Douro, Portugal), Partida Creus (Catalonia, Spain) and more. In addition, she travels to wine regions all over the world and attends natural wine fairs such as La Dive Bouteille, Les Pénitentes, La Salon des Vins de Loire in Loire Valley, France, Brunmaire in San Francisco and RAW in New York in search of the best natural wines.
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Get In Touch
Get in Touch
for press inquires only contact magdalena@mstcreative.com
for all other inquires please use contact form below or email hi@doreenwinkler.com
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