About

Jerome Hasenpflug was born 11 June 1955 in Houston, Texas. After high school he took his B.A. & M.A. degrees in Archaeology & Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, England, where he first began to appreciate the fine wines served by Churchill College during dinners at formal hall.

Graduate school at Harvard University brought an additional M.A. in Social Anthropology and fieldwork on the Navajo reservation for a Ph.D. he never completed.  This was an outcome much regretted at the time, but one that set him on a career path involving food, wine, history, and eventually an anthropological approach to life that informs his personality today.

An off-campus job working in fancy restaurants ensnared him in the world of wine appreciation, and after managing some of Boston’s finer establishments, in 1985 he started his career as a wine importer. Working first in New England and then with increasing National Sales and European Portfolio responsibilities, Jerome has developed substantial relationships with producers throughout Europe, with a profound understanding of the terroirs of France, especially Burgundy, where he has visited over 50 times, working with some of France’s most renowned producers of fine wine.

His sales experience has created some great friendships with some of the United States’ most recognised restaurateurs and retail wine merchants, as well as endearing him to a generation of distributor sales persons and managers across the country.  His travels through the US promoting his portfolios was always buttressed by a strong educational component, as he believes strongly that fine wine cannot be merely tasted and scored, but must be understood within its context of place and culture.

Jerome recently left the US wine business to pursue his dream of living a lot and working a little in France. He has taken to blogging to find his voice as a contributor to the understanding of French wines and to continue the education of Americans who seek a sense of place in the wines they drink.