Following education at the University of Chicago, Alan quickly found a home at New York's Burgundy Wine Company, explaining the complicated world of Burgundy to customers from around the world. He later became Assistant Vice-President of Christie’s North American Wine Department giving him further access to the world’s finest and rarest wines.
After returning home to Western Pennsylvania, Alan became sommelier at Mio Kitchen & Wine Bar in Aspinwall to much acclaim and then joined Nemacolin Woodlands Resort as Sommelier at the AAA Five-Daimond, Mobil Five -Star award-winning Lautrec Restaurant. He was quickly promoted to Wine & Spirits Manager for the entire resort and directed the largest wine cellar in the state of Pennsylvania.
He has hosted countless tastings and seminars for institutions as varied as the New York Stock Exchange, Columbia University Law School, and Allegheny General Hospital and was described by the New York Times as “…an enthusiastic, plain-spoken fellow who talks about wine the way a Knicks fan talks about basketball…” For the past several years he has been working on a comprehensive guide to the wines of Chablis & the Yonne Valley.