Kimberly Charles is a veteran of many years in the wine communications business. When I first met her in 1992 or thereabouts she did public relations for the New York-based importer, Kobrand.
She later moved to California to represent Gallo before eventually founding her own wine PR firm, Charles Communications, in San Francisco. At one time Kimberly had ambitions to study for the Master of Wine exam, but I suspect the demands of the daily job overtook her.
Yet she has a wonderful palate and a tremendous understanding of and appreciation for all the world’s wines, which is handy for a wine judge. Kimberly blogged recently over at All the Swirl on her tasting experience at the Monterey Wine Competition, where she has been one of our most respected palates for many years.
“Wine judging sounds like an easy job. It ain’t. When I first heard of the Monterey Wine competition, I conjured up in my recent urban transplant kinda way, an idyllic setting of getting up in the town of Monterey on the coast at 9 AM, having a leisurely jog and coffee followed by a 10 AM wine judging with few wines, plenty of breaks and lots of espresso.
“Little was I prepared for what greeted me those eight years ago, when I arrived in King City, California 145 miles south of South Francisco… a no nonsense and proud agricultural town and the heartbeat of the nearby Salinas Valley where the fairgrounds are the setting for the competition. Intense rounds of wines, sometimes number over 100 in a day create a whole new definition of stamina. We are fueled by the collegiality, the friendly ribbing of our friends and colleagues in the wine industry but most of all by the chicken enchiladas of Rosa, who has been making Mexican home cooking for our grateful judges every Saturday for at least 10 years.
“Sorry, there has to be some pay off for the grueling judging work…you can only have Rosa’s food if you’re a judge or you worm your way into her heart. Good luck.”
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