WINE ENTHUSIAST 40 UNDER 40
Isis Daniel, 26
Sommelier/Wine Content Creator • Washington, D.C.
The Millennial Somm
While many in the industry were fretting about whether or not millennials would buy and drink wine, Daniel was speaking to them directly. The sommelier and consultant started making #TastingThursday videos on Instagram, where she could taste and learn along with viewers. Over the course of the pandemic, she started working with brands to integrate them into videos. She’s also expanded her digital footprint on TikTok, where, as of press time, her humor and knowledge reach more than 120,000 viewers and counting.
Aaron Polsky, 34
Founder/CEO, LiveWire Cocktail Co. • Los Angeles
Bartender Defender
A decade-plus in the bar industry, most recently at Hollywood hotspot Harvard & Stone, and a lifetime admiring musicians led Polsky to launch LiveWire, a line of ready-to-drink cocktails developed by bartenders. The brand, started in 2019, puts bartenders in the spotlight, making sure their names are on the bottles and cans, and they receive proceeds from the sales. Polsky has likened the company to a talent agency: It’s about launching and supporting bartenders as holistic brands—not just sources of drink recipes. If bartenders are the new rock stars, he says, then LiveWire is a new record label.
Kristin Olszewski, 33
Founder/CEO, Nomadica Wine; Wine Director, Gigi’s • Los Angeles
Unbottled Enthusiasm
Ever-assiduous Olszewski earned degrees in sustainable agriculture and gender studies, then enrolled in a pre-med program at a little school called Harvard. But then? She fell in love with wine, tossed the medical school applications and refocused. Olszewski soaked up all she could about the beverage, became a certified sommelier and spent years on the floor of Michelin-starred restaurants. Another revelation came in 2017: Quality wine doesn’t need to be packaged in a bottle. She founded Nomadica Wine, a sommelier-curated canned wine company, and completely changed the alternative packaging landscape. Based in LA, the brand partners with sustainable, small-production, low-intervention wineries to create limited release wines in art-wrapped cans.
Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale, 37
Owner/Operator, The Koji Club • Boston
A Taste for Saké
A certified Advanced Saké Professional and all-out saké lover, DiPasquale dreamed of opening the first bar in Boston dedicated exclusively to the rice-based beverage. But just as plans came together, the pandemic hit. She decided to embrace it: DiPasquale reframed her idea and launched The Koji Club, a virtual saké bar concept and educational platform, instead. Starting in June 2020, she used the space to offer themed saké tastings via Zoom, logging on each week to taste through a curated selection of bottles alongside club participants. In doing so, she built a community of “saké enthusiasts,” and helped to reframe the drink as something for everyday enjoyment. Up next? A brick-and-mortar version is at long last slated to open this fall.
