By Way of Introduction

Cheers,
....and welcome to what promises to be my first of many blog entries here at BookCliff Vineyards. By way of introduction my name is Mark M. Stephan, Sommelier and Colorado Mountain Region Sales Representative here at BookCliff. I've been with the team here for nearly a year, at the Vineyard, in the Winery and at our Tasting Room in Boulder. Recently I've agreed to open the mountain territories, and represent our fine wines to both restaurants and liquor stores in the high country. I'll be visiting Dillon, Silverthorne, and Breckenridge in the next few weeks. From there we'll be expanding to most of the other Colorado Mountain resort areas.

A little about me... A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; I grew up in Titusville, Florida. (Just across the Intercoastal Waterway from the Kennedy Space Center where the Space Shuttle launches.) From my 16th birthday on, with breaks for the Navy and College I worked at the Walt Disney World Resort. Over my tenure I was part of the team at all 4 theme parks, having been a part of the pre-opening teams at both the Disney Mgm Studios and Disneys Animal Kingdom. From Park Operations to Resort Recreation, from Guest Relations to Food and Beverage I wore many hats throughout the years. During my last years at Walt Disney World I was a server and Sommelier at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. I recieved my Sommelier certificaions under the instruction of the Walt Disney World Wine Education program and Disney Worlds' Master Sommelier John Blazon. In April of 2006 I recieved my Guild Level Sommelier credentials thru the Court of Master Sommeliers. After moving to Colorado I successfully completed the International Wine Guild Advanced Course in the spring of 2007.

In addition to a passion for all things wine, I am also a big fan of live music and art. Here at BookCliff Vineyards and Winery I have had the opportunity to combine these passions with the introduciton of our signed, numbered, embellished special Scramble Campbell painted edition of our 2003 Ensemble. The lable features Scrambles painting "Mars at Closest" painted during the String Cheese Incidents show at Red Rocks Ampitheater. Each bottle is individually painted beyond the label by the artist. Over half of this limited edition of 100 bottles has already been sold, so be sure to get yours before they are all gone. For more of Scrambles art, visit http://www.scramblecampbell.com/.

My other interests include sailing, scuba, cave diving, hiking, camping and exploring outdoors. Having left the oceans for my new life here in Colorado, it seems that hiking, camping and exploring will take precedent over the others. Fortunately wine goes equally well with camping as it does with sailing.
Cheers,

Mark M. Stephan
BookCliff Vineyards
Sommelier and Sales