Marnie Old

Sommelier and wine educator extraordinaire Marnie Old has the refined palate of a vintner — and not one ounce of stereotypical oenophile attitude. Based in Philly, she spends her days teaching, writing, and consulting about wine. Students at the University of Delaware, the French Culinary Institute and all around the world have benefited immensely from her fun, down-to-earth approach — and so will you, in the Spirits & Sustenance chapter of A Virgin’s Guide to Everything.

Although lactose intolerant since 1990, Linsey Herman has bravely taken on an internship at a dairy, served as a cheese buyer for Atlanta’s first Whole Foods Market, chatted cheese with Alton Brown on Good Eats, sold specialty cheeses in Boston, and worked as cheese buyer for New York’s famous Artisanal Premium Cheese. All that milk product, and she’s smart, too. She attended Harvard, the New England Culinary Institute and the Kellogg School of Management.  Linsey now lives in Chicago with her puppy Lula. Find her in the Spirits & Sustenance chapter of A Virgin’s Guide to Everything, the cheese and chocolate section.

Check out Linsey’s food blog.

Gail Simmons: Merchandise Manager, Food & Wine.

Maribel Leiberman: Founder, Mariebelle Chocolates; Owner, Lunettes et Chocolats, NYC.