Aug 1, 2023
In Episode 60, I interview Regine Rousseau!!
Regine T. Rousseau, wine and spirits
expert, writer, presenter, and media personality, focuses on making
wine knowledge accessible to people at all levels of proficiency.
She is recognized as 2022 Leader in the Wine Industry by Wine
Business Monthly, a nominee of 2020 Wine Enthusiast Wine Star
Awards, Wine Educator of the Year, a WSET Level 3 with Merit, an
International Sommelier Guild Level II, and Executive Bourbon
Steward, Stave and Thief. She received the 2021 Alumni Achievement
Award from Knox College. Regine has traveled around the globe
sharing her wine and spirits expertise. She has authored or been
featured in articles in the The Drop, New Yorker, Wine Enthusiast,
Pix Wine, Black Enterprise, Black Food and Beverage, Wine
Spectator, the Zoe Report, Forbes, VinePair , Afar and Chicago
Tribune.
Regine fell in love with wine while studying abroad during college
in Besançon, France and began her career as a salesperson for a
wine distributor. While in this role, she noticed a disconnect
between wine professionals and consumers. Making wine approachable
became a central premise of Regine’s work.
In 2013, Regine established Shall We Wine, a wine and spirits
experiential marketing, event planning, and education company.
Working with national and boutique winemakers, distilleries,
importers, and distributors, she increases brand awareness, reach,
and revenue for clients through innovative and traditional
approaches. These include in-person and on-line activations,
events, sponsorships, videos, media and social media services, and
speaker and influencer marketing. She and her team are masters at
translating complex terminology into language that individuals of
every level of wine expertise and interest appreciates.
Regine’s speaking, keynote, moderator and panelist engagements
include South Beach Wine and Food Festival (2022 and 2023), Blacks
in Wine Symposium, Wonder Women in Wine, I.E.E.M Conference - Pinot
Grigio delle Venezie, SoloCEO Summit,
www.tastings.com, and Association of Writers and Writers’
Programs. She is columnist for Pix Wines and a blogger on
shallwewine.com, has served as subject matter expert for
VinePair, has been interviewed on You & Me Chicago, WGN Chicago,
Windy City Live, and Great Day Washington. Regine was the virtual
event moderator for Gallo International Women’s Month (2021 and
2023). Regine is a regular contributor for WGN’s Daytime Chicago
television show.
Language is integral to Rousseau’s work as
a poet and published author where wine and written word are often
interwoven. In her book Searching for Cloves and Lilies: The Wine
Edition, Regine illustrates the dynamics of personal relationships
while pairing each poem with wine that echoes the mood of her
writing.
Regine is recipient of the Wine Bloggers Conference Ethnifacts
Diversity Scholarship, grants from McBride Sisters Collections and
Allies for Community Business, and Knox College’s 2020 Alumni
Achievement Award. She is fluent in French, Haitian Creole, and
English.
She has a BA from Knox College, studied at L’Université de Franche
Comte and Centre de Linguistique Appliquée.