Meg’s aha moment with wine happened when she was 15 and living in Milan, Italy.  As fate would have it, she was invited to the friend of a friend’s country estate, complete with a castle, for the day.

During a marathon Italian lunch, the host brought bottle after bottle from his cellar to the table. The meal was a procession of exceptional dishes and wines that lasted for hours.  There was one wine, a Barolo, that was like nothing she’d ever experienced. On that day, with that bottle, Meg’s passion for wine, its culture and community were born.

After more travels and experiences with wine, Meg eventually settled down at Portland State University where she received her B.S. in International Studies with a minor in Political Science. After college, she briefly applied her degree working for a Congresswoman and on a few political campaigns before she decided to pack up and move to San Diego. The primary motivator being sunshine and youth.

It was in San Diego, and after an election cycle, that Meg decided it was time to get serious and find that “grown-up” job. After much searching, she answered an ad for an International Wine Broker position. It sounded sexy and fun, and Meg could sell that she was using her degree, to her parents.  This started her life in wine, and she hasn’t looked back.

After successfully working as a Wine Broker, Meg returned to the Willamette Valley to be closer to her mom, who was battling cancer. There, she furthered her wine experience, working for a distributor and learning the ins and outs of the industry at wineries, big and small. Her diverse background led her to eventually start élevage consulting, providing sales and marketing services to wineries and wine-related businesses.

In 2005, over a glass of 2000 Patrice Rion Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur at the Dundee Bistro, she met her husband and now business partner, Jerry. The sommelier, Erica Landon, now of Walter Scott Wines, had suggested the wine to each of them separately which then got them talking. The rest, as they say, is history.

Meg lives in McMinnville, Oregon with Jerry and their daughter Matilda. They are excited to announce they have a son on the way, expected to arrive in time to enjoy the 2018 harvest.  Meg directs the sales and marketing efforts at PROJECT M and continues to help wineries “market” and “move” wines as co-owner of èlevage consulting.  As the owner of the feminist brand NASTY WOMAN WINES, she channels her political prowess into wine with a mission to get more women to the table in leadership and policy.