Mike is a Level 4 Advanced Sommelier, educated and certified by the National Wine School program and administered by the Wine School of Philadelphia, which is the top ranked sommelier school in the USA according to SOMM. To attain a Level 4 Sommelier certification, the candidate must pass both blind tasting and theory parts to the exam, which has an overall 25% pass rate. Mike also has certifications in Wine Education, American Wine Specialist, Spanish Wine Specialist, Italian Wine Specialist, Food & Wine Scholar, Essential Master in Wine, as well as Advanced Winemaking and has co-developed a wine education program on the Barolo wine region.

Mike has a passion for wine and has spent significant time visiting a number of international and North American wine regions including Italy: Tuscany, Chianti, Lombardi, Piedmont, Campania, Veneto, and Abruzzo; France: Champagne and Loire Valley; Greece; USA: Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Finger Lakes, Long Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas. His areas of interest include wine education, vineyard management, soil & climate impact on wine, winemaking styles and wine & food pairing. Mike has family in the food, wine and olive oil industries in the USA and Italy, is passionate about food, wine and travel and happy to provide recommendations.

Mike is a member of several professional associations including the Society of Wine Educators (SWE) and the American Wine Society and regularly attends industry trade events.