Linda has always been a ‘foodie’ with a passion for wine. She has worked with Chateaux in France, wineries in Romania, vineyards in Italy, Germany, Australia and South Africa, Pisco producers in Chile, Vodka producers in Sweden, distilleries in the UK, cocktail manufacturers in Singapore, RTD manufacturers in Montreal and many more, acquiring an extensive knowledge of wine and the production of other alcoholic beverages.

While working in Calgary on a 13 month UK government contract, Linda created ‘Vine and Dine‘, a wine and food pairing club held in restaurants all over Calgary, initially as a hobby. The first event was held at Mango Shiva Restaurant, Calgary in December 2005, pairing six East Indian dishes with wine. The concept was an instant hit, selling out two nights a month (50 people each time) and rapidly increasing to three, four and five nights a month. Since then Vine and Dine has featured Japanese, Italian, Lebanese, Chinese, International, Thai, Greek, Portuguese, Russian, Ethiopian, Spanish, Latin American, Fusion, Mexican, Korean, East Indian, Canadian and Irish Cuisines.

Linda now regularly runs 15 - 18 public and private tastings, food/wine events for businesses, organizations and individuals each month. Her Wine Basics Course is always a sell-out every month as is her Wine II Intermediate Course whenever offered.

As a food and wine pairing expert, Linda is a regular on CBC Radio’s ‘Homestretch’. She has earned a reputation as one of Calgary’s prime wine experts, educators and influencers, speaking at functions all over the city and writing for several wine magazines plus a regular column in Where Magazine. October 2008 saw the first televised food and wine pairing segments from Linda’s kitchen where she cooks topical dishes and then pairs them with wine for CBC TV province-wide. December 2008 was the first showing of Vine and Dine on TV. Now Linda pairs wine with food on City TV’s Breakfast TV.

In June 2011 Linda was appointed Calgary Wine Examiner and writes 2-3 articles each week on wine for Examiner.com.

Coming up: We are finalizing details of a small-group trip to Spain in Sept. 2012. Contact us if you're interested and we'll keep you informed.