Natalie Breaux

Natalie Breaux was born in Cajun country and spent her formative years in various locations throughout the southern United States. Fresh out of culinary school she moved to Denver in 2004 and took an interim job stocking shelves at a wine shop. She quickly rose up the ranks and became wine manager in less than a year. Since then, her aptitude and passion for wine and food have guided her in roles as wine director for an iconic farm-to-table restaurant, as adjunct beverage instructor for Johnson & Wales University, and now as a key instructor for Napa Valley Wine Academy. ‘Nat’, as her friends call her, has always had a passion for writing, editing, and teaching. She has been fortunate enough to work on projects for Jancis Robinson MW, Tom Stevenson, The Society of Wine Educators, and The Sommelier (now SOMM) Journal. Natalie passed the Master of Wine practical exams in 2017 on her first try, and subsequently passed the theory portion of the Master of Wine exam in 2018; she is currently working on her research paper to complete the MW certification. Natalie is also a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, and a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators; she earned the prestigious Banfi Award for achieving the highest score in her cohort when she passed the CWE exam on her first attempt. When she isn’t obsessing about wine you can find Nat creating in her kitchen, relaxing in her garden, or watching tennis with her wine nerd husband, Nathan.