ABOUT
A life worth savoring.
I’m Trista—a wine lover, curious traveler, enthusiastic host, and firm believer that some of life’s best moments happen when we slow down long enough to actually notice them.
A great bottle shared around a table. A sunset you stop what you’re doing to watch. A meal you’re still talking about years later. A trip that takes you somewhere completely outside your comfort zone—or sometimes, a weekend with nowhere to be, charcuterie in your pajamas, and your favorite people nearby.
To me, a well-poured life isn’t about making everything elaborate or expensive. It’s about being curious, paying attention, and finding the experiences worth savoring.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
It started with one really good bottle.
Sometime around 2008, I was at a steakhouse with coworkers when my boss ordered a really lovely bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.
I wish I could tell you I immediately identified its perfectly integrated tannins or waxed poetic about its complexity.
I did not.
I just knew it was different, and it was delicious.
It was the first time I remember having a true a-ha moment with wine—the realization that there was an entire world in that glass that I knew almost nothing about. I tracked down that exact bottle afterward and bought one for myself. At the time, it was the most I had ever spent on a bottle of wine.
Curiosity officially had me.
CURIOSITY TURNED INTO PASSION
Then I moved closer to wine country.
In 2013, I moved to the Seattle area and suddenly found myself within easy reach of Washington wine country. Trying local wines became part of exploring my new home, and my palate started expanding right along with it.
Then came a trip to Sonoma for my 40th birthday where I fell hard for Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. That was another one of those a-ha moments. The following year I went to Napa, and by then there really was no turning back.
I wanted to taste more, travel more, and understand why wines from different places could be so completely different.
The wine bug was firmly planted.
THE DEEPER DIVE
Curiosity eventually sent me back to school.
When the world went online in 2020, so did wine education. I started joining a few free webinars, mostly because I was curious - and suddenly they were accessible from my living room.
I was hooked.
That curiosity led to WSET Level 1 in 2020, Level 2 in 2024, and Level 3 in 2026—earning Distinction at both Levels 2 and 3.
But the more I learned, the more I realized that knowing about wine shouldn't make it more intimidating. It should do exactly the opposite.
Understanding why a wine tastes the way it does, how a place shapes what's in the glass, or why a winemaker makes a particular choice gives you more ways to enjoy it—not more rules to follow.
That became the kind of wine education I wanted to share.
WHY I SHARE IT
The best part is helping someone else have their a-ha moment.
In 2023, I started writing about wine for STROLL, my community magazine, as a way to share some of what I was learning. Later that year, I began hosting neighborhood wine tastings—casual afternoons built around a region, a grape, or simply the chance to try something new.
And somewhere along the way, I realized what I loved most wasn't knowing more about wine. It was helping other people enjoy it more.
I hear some version of “I only drink Chardonnay,” “I don't like white wine,” or “I never know what to order” all the time. And I get it. I've had plenty of my own wine opinions overturned over the years.
But there’s something incredibly fun about pouring someone a wine they never would have chosen for themselves and watching that expression change.
That little pause. The second sip. The “Wait—I actually like this.”
That’s the moment.
I want wine to feel approachable enough to ask questions, interesting enough to keep exploring, and never so serious that anyone worries about saying the wrong thing.
A WELL-POURED LIFE
Wine is only part of the story …
For me, A Well-Poured Life has never been only about what’s in the glass.
It’s about being curious enough to try something new. Taking the trip. Ordering the dish you can’t pronounce. Asking the question even when you think everyone else already knows the answer.
It’s also about slowing down long enough to appreciate what’s already right in front of you—the people around your table, a spectacular sunset, a meal worth lingering over, or an ordinary evening that somehow becomes one you remember.
Wine happens to be a wonderful way into those moments. Every bottle has a place, people, history, and choices behind it. Learning a little about those things doesn’t make wine more complicated. It makes the experience richer.
That’s what I hope to share here: enough knowledge to give you confidence, enough inspiration to make you curious, and absolutely no expectation that you need to become an expert.
Drink well. Live curiously. And don’t forget to savor it.
WHAT YOU’LL FIND HERE
Consider this your invitation to explore.
A Well-Poured Life is a place for people who enjoy wine—or simply want to enjoy it more—without feeling like they need to know everything first.
DRINK WELL
Approachable wine education, bottles worth discovering, regions worth knowing, and practical help choosing what to pour.
LIVE CURIOUSLY
Wine country, travel, food, history, and the places and experiences that make what’s in the glass more interesting.
GATHER OFTEN
Tastings, pairings, entertaining ideas, and simple ways to make gathering around the table a little more memorable.
Not sure where to start?
Pour yourself something good and take a look around.