Our Instructors
Here's an alphabetical list of our instructors, with some of their wine-related credentials:
Michael Ahlborn. A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate and Diploma and also a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) from the Society of Wine Educators, Mike is now a primary instructor in our Diploma Unit 3 classes in the Philadelphia area. He previously lived in the New York area, where he was in charge of internet sales for a large retail wine store.
Charles Austermuhl (photograph, right). Charles is a holder of the WSET
Advanced Certificate (with Distinction) and the WSET Diploma, plus the
Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW) credential from the SWE. He also
serves as a WSET Level 3 and Level 4 Assessor (for the Advanced
and Diploma exams). Charles is the primary instructor for the Unit 4,
5 and 6 WSET Diploma classes, and serves as primary in-class assessor
(providing individualized feedback on practice tasting sessions) for
our WSET Advanced classes.
Mark Cochard (photograph, left). A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate
(with Distinction) and the WSET Diploma, he also a Certified Wine Educator
(CWE) from the Society of Wine Educators, having earned the Banfi Award
for having the highest score in the world in the CWE exam. Mark is a
WSET Level 3 & 4 Assessor, and has been an instructor in Chaddsford
Winery's wine education program since 1992. He is a regular instructor
of WSET Advanced classes and WSET Diploma classes, Units 3 through 6.
James Colabelli. A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate (with Distinction) and the WSET Diploma, James is also a candidate in the Master of Wine (MW) program. He has had a distinguished career as a sommelier (Davio's, Fountain Restaurant at the Four Seasons) and was a founding partner in Meritage Philadelphia Restaurant. James has taught Diploma Unit 2 and 3 classes and some Advanced classes.
Jodi DeStefon. A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate (with Distinction) and a WSET Level 3 Assessor, Jodi is also a Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW) from the Society of Wine Educators and has taught wine classes at local colleges and for Chaddsford Winery.
Neal Ewing (photograph, right). A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate
(with Distinction) and the WSET Diploma, a WSET Level 3 & 4 Assessor,
a Certified Wine Educator (CWE) from the Society of Wine Educators and
a wine instructor for the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College and
for Drexel University's Culinary program. He previously served as Wine
Manager for The Wine Line (Camden, NJ), as wine buyer for Jack's Firehouse
Restaurant, as an instructor at the International Wine Center in New
York, and as a writer for The Wine Spectator.
Bob Lemoine (photograph, left). A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate
and also a WSET Level 3 Assessor, Bob has lived in Australia and brings
special knowledge of that country to our classes. He co-instructs the
WSET Intermediate course.
Dave Martin. A holder of both the WSET Advanced Certificate and the WSET Diploma, Dave ran the highly regarded wine program at Camden's Triangle Liquors in the early 1990's and is currently a sales rep for Lauber Imports.
Melissa Monosoff (photograph, right). 
Melissa is a holder of the WSET
Advanced Certificate and the WSET Diploma, and is a candidate in both
the Master of Wine (MW) and Master Sommelier (MS) programs. She has
been a sommelier at the Four Seasons' Fountain Restaurant, Striped Bass
and Avenue B and has written for Philadelphia Magazine.
In 2004 she was named one of four "Best New Sommeliers" in
the U.S. by Wine & Spirits Magazine. In addition to her duties as the wine director at Maia Restaurant in Villanova and as the state sommelier for the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, Melissa is
a primary insructor for our WSET Diploma Unit 3 classes.
Stuart Niemtzow. Stuart is one of the East Coast's top experts on Burgundy, having visited and tasted in its finest cellars on numerous occasions over the past 20 years.
Rob Peters (photograph, left). A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate
and the SWE's Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW) credential, Rob also
received an individual "Best of Philly" award from Philadelphia
Magazine for his work as wine buyer for the Ardmore, PA, Wine
Specialty Store. He has taught numerous classes at Main Line School
Night, and is a primary instructor for the Restaurant School's First
Growth course.
Donna Quinn. A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate and the WSET Diploma (just one of five people in the U.S. to earn the Diploma in 2004), and a Level 3 Assessor Donna, as Beverage Director for the Sofitel Hotel, worked with a major Washington winery to develop the house wines to be used in every Sofitel Hotel in North America. She currently works with a wine wholesaler.
Michael Schaefer. A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate and both the Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW) and Certified Wine Educator (CWE) credentials from the Society of Wine Educators, Michael is also currently on the Board of Directors of the SWE. He is a Certified Wine Judge from the American Wine Society and is employed by a large NJ wine retailer.
Becky Scheibe. A holder of both the WSET Advanced Certificate and the WSET Diploma (with Distinction), Becky has taught numerous wine courses in New Jersey and is currently a sales associate for Regal Imports.
Beth Sheligo. The long-time president of the local chapter of the German Wine Society, Beth currently serves as its national president and has taught classes on German and Austrian wines and dessert wines for us.
Pey-Wen Ting. A holder of the WSET Advanced Certificate (with Distinction) and the WSET Diploma. Pey-Wen is a Certified Educator for WSET Levels 1, 2 and 3 and serves as a WSET Level 3 and 4 Assessor (for the Advanced and Diploma exams). She is also a Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW) from the Society of Wine Educators. Pey-Wen teaches Diploma Unit 3 classes on Alsace, Germany and Spain, and is a co-instructor for Diploma Unit 4 (Spirits) and 6 (Fortified Wine).
Read about our partner institutions, honored guest speakers, and great wines we've tasted.
Learn more about our wine classes.
Learn more about our wine tastings, including private wine tastings.