Episode 13 - Dan Dawson, Recovering Wine Shop Owner

In episode 13 of our ongoing podcast series, The Stories Behind Wine we speak to recovering wine shop owner, founder of Dawson Wine Advisors, and Napa native Dan Dawson. Dan’s story starts with waiting tables, traveling to the midwest to sell Vouvray, to becoming the French Laundry’s first sommelier, and founding Napa’s most respected wine shops, and ultimately abandoning retail to stake his claim in the digital wine recommendation space.

Daniel Dawson: Wine Critic, Founder,
President of Dan Dawson’s Wine Advisor

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D.W.S., AIWS, FWS, IWP, WSET-Certified, Chief Educational Officer

Christian Oggenfuss

Christian Oggenfuss the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Napa Valley Wine Academy is a passionate wine industry spokesman, and educator. He holds the dipWSET, the highest certification from the London based Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is an Associate Member of the Institute of Wine & Spirits. Christian also holds the French Wine Scholar (FWS), the Italian Wine Professional (IWP), and the American Wine Expert (AWE), certification. He is also one of only 64 Bourgogne Wine Ambassadors in the world.

He brings 20+ years of wine experience to the wine education arena as a marketer and brand builder for wine brands including Stags’ Leap Winery, Etude, Beringer Vineyards, Benziger Family Winery, PlumpJack Estate Winery, Odette Estate, CADE Estate Winery, St. Clement, and V. Sattui Winery.

Christian is a born entrepreneur and has successfully launched wine-related businesses in Switzerland and traveled extensively to all major wine regions in Europe and North America. He is fluent in Schwiizerdütsch (Swiss-German) and English. Additionally, he is a Certified Champagne Wine Location Specialist (Champagne Bureau) and a Certified Port Wine Location Specialist (Port Wine Institute).