Our Experts

Beer

Certified Cicerone®

A Certified Cicerone® has a detailed knowledge of retail beer storage and service issues and an understanding of beer ingredients and the brewing process. A Cicerone® is familiar with modern beers and styles as well as historical styles and beer history. He/she can identify both flawed beers and recognize appropriate and inappropriate flavors in modern beer styles and has the ability to recommend beer pairings for common foods.

The three levels of available certifications through the Cicerone® certification program are – Certified Beer Server, Certified Cicerone® and Master Cicerone®.

Wine & Spirits

The Master of Wine and Master Sommelier are two of the highest designations a person can earn in the wine world, and they are awarded by an organization called the Court of Master Sommeliers. There are just over 300 Masters of Wine in the world, and roughly the same number of Master Sommeliers.

Candidates must pass four extremely difficult examination levels to attain the qualification of Master Sommelier. Level I – Introductory Sommelier, Level II – Certified Sommelier, Level III – Advanced Sommelier, Level IV – Master Sommelier.

En route to the Master of Wine designation is the diploma from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust. This is a two to three year program that ends in the DWS designation, which is also known as the AIWS in the United Kingdom.

The Society of Wine Educators offers three designations: CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine), CWE (Certified Wine Educator) and CSS (Certified Specialist of Spirits).

The CSW is received following a very involved written test in which one must get 80 percent of the questions right. Once the CSW is earned, one can work towards the CWE, which tests a candidate’s wine knowledge as well as their tasting acumen and teaching ability. The CSS (Certified Specialist of Spirits) tests a candidate’s spirits knowledge and mastery of key elements within the world of distillation and spirits production.

Sake

The Certified Sake Professional (CSP) certification is earned after successfully passing a 75-question multiple-choice examination covering all basic aspects of sake. It assesses the ability to professionally work with sake and demonstrate competence about all things sake related including terminology, classifications, production and culture.

Heidelberg’s Certified Experts

Certified Cicerone®

Chris Emmons
Director of Craft
Dayton
Meghan Miller
On-Premise Beer Manager
Lorain
Mike Allessee
Craft Brands Manager
Toledo
Ryan Montrie
General Sales Manager, Wine
Toledo
Sebastian Palicki
District Manager, Beer
Toledo
Kyle Wanee
Sales Professional
Youngstown

Certified Sake Professional (CSP)

Mary Horn
Vice President of Fine Wine Sales and Education
Cincinnati

Certified Specialist of Spirits (CSS)

Mary Horn
Vice President of Fine Wine Education
Cincinnati
Matt Smith
Director of On-Premise
Cincinnati
Stacey Meyer
Fine Wine Manager
Cincinnati
Travis Casteel
Sales Professional
Cincinnati
Maggie Reedy
Sales Professional
Cincinnati
Jason Shartzer
Vice President of Customer Development
Cincinnati
Dan Kaszar
Customer Development Manager
Cleveland
Kyle Kutcha
Spirits Marketing Manager
Cleveland
Ken Archbold
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Columbus
Lauren Thomas
General Sales Manager, Allied Wine
Dayton
Brandon Judd
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Stephanie Adams
District Manager
Kentucky
Joshua Mulberry
General Sales Manager
Kentucky
Jimmy Carpenter
General Manager
Kentucky
Lonnie Petter
Field Sales Manager
Kentucky
Kymberly Henson
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Clay Carpenter
District Sales Manager
Kentucky
Ryan Livingston
Fine Wine Manager
Lorain
Rachel Moore
Spirits Marketing Manager
Ohio Valley
Drew Baloun
District Sales Manager - Fine Wine
Ohio Valley
Jon Rood
Sales Professional
Ohio Valley
Kyle Wanee
Sales Professional
Youngstown

Certified Sommelier (CS)

Luke Hueckel
Regional Sales Manager
Columbus
Ryan Livingston
Sales Professional
Cleveland

Advanced Sommelier, Level III

Mary Horn
Vice President of Fine Wine Education
Cincinnati

Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW)

Kerri Breeze
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Cincinnati
Travis Casteel
Sales Professional
Cincinnati
Kelly Knafel
Sales Professional
Cincinnati
Stacey Meyer
Fine Wine Manager
Cincinnati
Maggie Reedy-Gee
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Cincinnati
Mary Horn
Vice President of Fine Wine Education
Cincinnati
Mark Schneider
Sales Professional
Cincinnati
Jason Shartzer
Vice President of Customer Development
Cincinnati
Kristan Ellis
Sales Professional
Cincinnati
Matt Smith
Director of On-Premise
Cincinnati
Rob Owens
Wine General Sales Manager Cincinnati
Cincinnati
Amy Congrove
Fine Wine Manager
Cleveland
Constance Wressle
Sales Professional
Cleveland
Erin Lax
Sales Professional
Cleveland
Hannah Szabo
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Cleveland
Ian McDonald
Director of Fine Wine
Cleveland
Joel Sandrey
Director of Sales, North - Wine Trends
Cleveland
Rick Hetzel
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Cleveland
Robert Purgert
Sales Professional
Cleveland
Ryan Livingston
Sales Professional
Cleveland
Mike Turner
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Cleveland
Dan Rapata
Director of Marketing & Sales, Wine Trends
Columbus
Alex Friedman
Regional Sales Manager
Columbus
Amanda Moss
Sales Merchandiser
Columbus
Brynn Stewart
Sales Professional
Columbus
Chris Venci
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Columbus
Dan Berg
Sales Professional
Columbus
Jim Wiggers
District Manager
Columbus
Leslie Peters
Sales Professional
Columbus
Luke Hueckel
Regional Manager, Wine Trends
Columbus
Nikki Mulholland
Sales Professional, Wine Trends
Columbus
Reed Birkenholtz
Director of Low Proof Spirits
Columbus
Sarah Hatfield
Sales Professional
Columbus
Scott Washburn
Sales Professional
Columbus
Steve Weeks
Sales Professional
Columbus
Stewart Sollitto
On-Premise Manager
Columbus
Todd Chichka
Sales Professional
Columbus
Amanda Fritts
General Sales Manager, Heidelberg Wine
Dayton
Bo Hammons
Sales Professional, Allied Wine
Dayton
David Pitzer
Sales Professional
Dayton
Doug Hill
Sales Professional
Dayton
Erin Dotson
District Sales Manager
Dayton
Ernest Brown
General Sales Manager, Wine Trends
Dayton
Jodie Jones
Sales Professional, Allied Wine
Dayton
Ken Hall
Sales Professional, Allied Wine
Dayton
Lauren Thomas
General Sales Manager, Allied Wine
Dayton
Rob Vonderbrink
Fine Wine Manager
Dayton
Tim Creekmur
District Sales Manager, On-Premise
Dayton
Kiah Brown
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Ryan Nethaway
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Clay Carpenter
Statewide Craft Beer Manager
Kentucky
Lonnie Petter
Area Manager, Louisville/Western KY
Kentucky
Kymberly Henson
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Jimmy Carpenter
Vice President & General Manager
Kentucky
Dawn Bianconcini
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Joshua Mulberry
General Sales Manager, Wine & Spirits
Kentucky
Stephanie Adams
District Manager
Kentucky
Michael Grote, Jr.
Sales Professional
Kentucky
Jerry Ervin
District Manager
Lorain
Dick Fruehwald
Sales Professional
Ohio Valley
Drew Baloun
Fine Wine Manager
Ohio Valley
Tracy Eilers
On-Premise Manager
Ohio Valley
Jon Rood
Sales Professional
Ohio Valley
Pat Keith
Field Sales Manager
Ohio Valley
Jody Rodkey
Sales Professional
Toledo
Kevin Boehm
District Manager
Toledo/Berman Wine
Ryan Montrie
General Sales Manager
Toledo