About Us

Lisa and I created the Bay Area Wine Project because we love wine. We wanted to enjoy interesting and wonderful wines in the company of others who likewise want to learn about and experience wine in all of its forms. We mostly stick to wine’s red forms, as our palettes bend us in that direction. And Pinot Noir is our favorite, hands-down. In short, we seek to promote wine and wine-related events so that wine lovers, new and seasoned, can broaden and deepen their pursuit.

Eric and Teri White have joined us to help produce Pinot Days. The only person I know who is a bigger "wine-geek" than me is Eric and his knowledge about all wine in general is simply incredible. Their experience from years of working Rhone Rangers and other events proved invaluable during the inaugural event.

Pinot Days is the Bay Area Wine Project’s cornerstone, and it is our favorite endeavor. Our real differentiator (besides the fact that we exclusively feature pinot noir) is the fact that wine makers and winery owners do the actual pouring.  This makes for a very rich experience for our patrons. We also do smaller tastings, centering on a theme such as 2000 Pisoni Pinot Noir, Northern Rhone, Left Bank Bordeaux, and Aussie Shiraz. We collect the best and hardest-to-find wines within the theme, and serve them in flights at big, round tables with a block of some amazing cheese and a basket of good bread. Though the wines are the centerpiece, so is the conversation that bubbles up as we all taste. Some folks have immense depth of knowledge about wine, and others are newer to formal tasting, but nearly everyone offers reflections and comments, and absolutely everyone walks away knowing more about the evening’s varietal, vintage or regional theme than they did when they arrived. It is learning through experience – through sipping and talking and comparing – and that is, in our humble opinions, the only kind of learning that has an impact.

We also sponsor smaller, private events that range from private parties given by folks who want to offer their guests a particular wine experience, to corporate events that use wine as a way to incite conversation and collegiality. As is the case with our tastings, our private events offer wine lovers access to really interesting and wonderful wines in an environment that is light and fun, yet focused on the wines.

Beyond our tastings and events, the Bay Area Wine Project provides information about and access to wine-related events in the greater Bay Area. Our website is a kind of Bay Area hub for wine events, wine education opportunities, and wine “trivia” (though personally speaking, we do not consider much that is related to wine to be trivial!). In the category of wine “trivia” you’ll find articles about outstanding wine personalities, winery profiles, reviews of wine events, restaurant wine lists, formal tastings in the greater Bay Area, and so on.

Biography of Steven and Lisa Rigisich
I am intrigued by history, and I like reading it. I like talking politics. I golf, and on most days, I like it, too. But I love wine. Few things that I have delved into in my life have matched my passion for wine, and none have exceeded it. Having lived in New York City for 15 years, I have to say that my love for New York equals my love for wine, as neither one can ever be conquered or fully known; there is always more to see, to taste, to wonder about, and to learn. When my wife Lisa and I moved from New York to California a few years ago, we knew a lot about wine. Now, four years later, I look back on what we knew and I can see how much further we have come. And that, in my opinion, is what makes a great hobby into a great passion – when the object of the hobby is so vast that it always has something new to offer, something stimulating, complicating, intriguing. It’s true of people, too, but I won’t wax on about that. Suffice it to say that the Bay Area Wine Project is our passionate undertaking. I can say that I am an entrepreneur who, among other things, built and sold a professional services business, or I can say that Lisa is a Professor of English Education, but we are primarily and more importantly lovers of life and all of its good things – our awesome little boys, good friends, good food, good times – and wine is both actually and symbolically a centerpiece of the good life. It is the centerpiece at the table, food surrounding, with years of age and of land and sun and wind and soil within it. It is what happens when something good is allowed to become something great. It is a mystery that compels to be known, that gives itself away and yet ever eludes. And so I say, pass the bread and pour the pinot. And let’s talk about it.
   
Biography of Eric and Teri White
 
My exposure to wine began at an early age when, with my older brother, we would take day trips to the Napa Valley and Sonoma in the late 60s and early 70s with our parents.  Naturally we were too young to taste, but the trips were always an adventure, we were intrigued by the tours, played on the winery grounds during the tastings, and loved the rare treats when wineries such as Martini and Sebastiani would serve us unfermented grape juice in a wine glasses so we could participate just like the adults.  The smell of a barrel room is still a comforting and wonderful reminder of those early wine country sojourns, and at home, where wine was simply a part of life, always part of the evening meal, we were no longer "too young" for a taste now and then, even if at that age we preferred the unfermented stuff.  So my love for wine as an adult seemed more like like a natural inevitability, rather than a light bulb moment, and only grew when Teri and I were wed in 1990 and began exploring the world of wine together.  As with virtually all of life's experiences, those that are shared are so much more rewarding, particularly with someone who shares your passion, as is the case with Teri and I.  As for life outside of wine, our shared passions include travel, fine dining, scuba & free diving, nature, music, and fine art.  Professionally I am a technology geek, currently working as a Sr. Network Engineer, and Teri is a Fine Arts graduate, currently pursuing her Masters of Fine Arts degree at the Academy of Arts in San Francisco.