Jay Youmans, Master of Wine (MW)

Jay Youmans, MW entered the wine trade in 1978 while still attending Wake Forest University. He helped open and manage one of the first wine bars in North Carolina, the Salem Cotton Company.

From 1981-98 he held executive positions with Famous Brands, Montdomaine Vineyards, Mims Distributing, and Southern Slopes International Wines.

In 1998 he started Rock Creek Wine Merchants, a sales, marketing, and import company, which he owns and manages today. In addition, he is the managing partner of No Vineyards and Winery, a California Sauvignon Blanc brand; and a partner in Manse Field, a Pinot Noir vineyard in Martinborough, New Zealand.

He is an Advanced Level Master Sommelier, and a member of the Society of Wine Educators. He serves as a wine judge for the Starwine International Wine Competition, The Atlantic Wine Competition, and the California State Fair.

He is co-publisher of the International Wine Review, and a member of the Virginia Wine Guide tasting panel. In 2004, Jay became the 21st American to pass the Master of Wine exam, winning the Vina Errazuriz award for the outstanding paper on the business of wine.

Jay is the only Master of Wine to reside in the Washington DC area, one of only twenty five in the United States and one of only 225 in the World.

Tom Finigan, CSW

Tom Finigan has been in the wine business for 10 years in the Washington DC Metro Area, the Boston Metro Area and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He currently works as a wine distributor in Washington, representing small family wineries. Before that he was the Wine Director and General Manager of Buttterfield 9 downtown.

He moved to Washington two years ago leaving his position as Sommelier and Manager of Blue Ginger Restaurant, owned by James Beard award winning Chef and Food Network and PBS host, Ming Tsai. During his tenure at Blue Ginger, the restaurant won two Wine Spectator Awards and the wine list was noted as "Standout" by Boston Magazine. Also at this time, Tom served as the wine and beverage consultant on Ming Tsai's PBS cooking program "Simply Ming" and the companion cookbook "Ming's Master Recipes".

Tom holds the Advanced Certificate in Wines and Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and currently teaches the Intermediate Certificate - Level 2 courses for the Washington Wine Academy. Tom is a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) with the Society of Wine Educators and just recently passed his "Wine Century", a recognition for having tasted over 100 different grape varietals.

For more information about the WSET Program or the Washington Wine Academy, please contact Jim Barker at JimBarker@WashingtonWineAcademy.org or by phone at 703-971-1525.