Who We Are
Kirsten Henry Fox, The Somm
I am an executive sommelier, entrepreneur, and mother.
I grew up in La Jolla California, went to Vanderbilt University and after spending my entire youth vacationing in Park City, Utah, I moved there in 1995.
I became fascinated with wine when my oldest children hit their teenage years, (not a coincidence,) and opened my first wine education company, Fox School of Wine, in 2008. I received the Certified Specialist of Wine by Society of Wine Educators in 2009. During my classes at wine school, my students repeatedly related stories of mishandled wine at restaurants.
Eventually I founded the Culinary Wine Institute in 2012, dedicated to partnering with restaurants to increase customer satisfaction, server confidence and profitability in connection with their wine programs. My free resources, book – The Profitable Wine List – and online sales training have helped 100s of independent restaurants gain traction in the often confusing world of wine.
I wrote from 2013-2017 as a blogger for the Huffington Post in a column titled Wines to Pair with Life.
My academic wine studies continued in 2014 when I received my Executive Sommelier certification from the International Wine Guild.
After going through breast cancer, I opened a third company in 2015 called Uplift Gift which provides high-quality, curated gift boxes for supportive people to send friends facing bad news – divorce, medical challenges, pet loss, etc.
In 2018-19, fellow wine school owner – Jim Santangelo of the Wine Academy of Utah – and I recorded a radio show/podcast each week on the Cumulus Radio Network called Twisted Cork Radio.
Wines and Wonders started in January 2020, a year to remember.
I grew up in La Jolla California, went to Vanderbilt University and after spending my entire youth vacationing in Park City, Utah, I moved there in 1995.
I became fascinated with wine when my oldest children hit their teenage years, (not a coincidence,) and opened my first wine education company, Fox School of Wine, in 2008. I received the Certified Specialist of Wine by Society of Wine Educators in 2009. During my classes at wine school, my students repeatedly related stories of mishandled wine at restaurants.
Eventually I founded the Culinary Wine Institute in 2012, dedicated to partnering with restaurants to increase customer satisfaction, server confidence and profitability in connection with their wine programs. My free resources, book – The Profitable Wine List – and online sales training have helped 100s of independent restaurants gain traction in the often confusing world of wine.
I wrote from 2013-2017 as a blogger for the Huffington Post in a column titled Wines to Pair with Life.
My academic wine studies continued in 2014 when I received my Executive Sommelier certification from the International Wine Guild.
After going through breast cancer, I opened a third company in 2015 called Uplift Gift which provides high-quality, curated gift boxes for supportive people to send friends facing bad news – divorce, medical challenges, pet loss, etc.
In 2018-19, fellow wine school owner – Jim Santangelo of the Wine Academy of Utah – and I recorded a radio show/podcast each week on the Cumulus Radio Network called Twisted Cork Radio.
Wines and Wonders started in January 2020, a year to remember.
Dannielle Bryan, The Shaman
My Shamanic path connected all the dots for me. It taught me to know how to effectively work with my natural intuitive gifts and my desire to assist people in the wellbeing of their lives. This path is my study, my spiritual practice, and my profession. It was the saving grace when I went through my own dark night of the soul,
I went through my own very painful and scary time. Over the course of 5 years I went through a sad divorce ( my son was 6), I resigned/got fired from the career I thought was my end all, be all and lost my spiritual community. I started a business that never got off the ground, spent all my money – literally down to my last $450 – and had no job. Needless to say my friends were having full meltdowns on my behalf. I had to surrender to the whole fat mess.
It wasn’t pretty, but all the while I had my spiritual healing practice, the ability to trust and keep moving forward, and amazing friends and family who hung in there, processed with me and listened as I worked through it.
I never lost sight of my choice in all of it, The lessons, insights, wisdom, and medicine I have cultivated is what I lovingly and happily share with my clients and students. Teaching people how to bring the spiritual and energetic realm into relatable, tangible practices is one of my favorite ways to spend my day.
I love this experience of life and the wonders of our beautiful world. I suppose I was destined to be a shaman because it picked me.
I never planned on studying shamanism, but as the Universe would have it, I found myself sitting in class one day due to a cancellation of a previously scheduled event. I said yes to the offer as I already had the time off from work and thought “That sounds interesting”. And there I landed in my first practitioner training class. I knew this was it!!
Shamans are map makers. It’s what we do. We track for what is possible. We lay the course, traversing the challenges with courage and grace, developing our intuitive skills that allow us to navigate our lives with confidence and joy. I guide you in charting your map to create a more expanded, harmonious and connected life.
I love what I do. It is a privilege to witness one’s soul level! It is the most sacred place in those I have worked with and taught. The willingness to share this most precious aspect of self is one of the most courageous acts of vulnerability we can do.
I am moved by the profound shifts in every session and every class.
I have been on both sides of this equation as a student and a teacher, client and practitioner, and it continues to expand me, shape me, blow my mind, move me to tears, and bring more beauty and bliss into my life.
This is how I navigate my life and this is what I share with others - Through all of our seeming failures and challenging times we cultivate something worthwhile.
I went through my own very painful and scary time. Over the course of 5 years I went through a sad divorce ( my son was 6), I resigned/got fired from the career I thought was my end all, be all and lost my spiritual community. I started a business that never got off the ground, spent all my money – literally down to my last $450 – and had no job. Needless to say my friends were having full meltdowns on my behalf. I had to surrender to the whole fat mess.
It wasn’t pretty, but all the while I had my spiritual healing practice, the ability to trust and keep moving forward, and amazing friends and family who hung in there, processed with me and listened as I worked through it.
I never lost sight of my choice in all of it, The lessons, insights, wisdom, and medicine I have cultivated is what I lovingly and happily share with my clients and students. Teaching people how to bring the spiritual and energetic realm into relatable, tangible practices is one of my favorite ways to spend my day.
I love this experience of life and the wonders of our beautiful world. I suppose I was destined to be a shaman because it picked me.
I never planned on studying shamanism, but as the Universe would have it, I found myself sitting in class one day due to a cancellation of a previously scheduled event. I said yes to the offer as I already had the time off from work and thought “That sounds interesting”. And there I landed in my first practitioner training class. I knew this was it!!
Shamans are map makers. It’s what we do. We track for what is possible. We lay the course, traversing the challenges with courage and grace, developing our intuitive skills that allow us to navigate our lives with confidence and joy. I guide you in charting your map to create a more expanded, harmonious and connected life.
I love what I do. It is a privilege to witness one’s soul level! It is the most sacred place in those I have worked with and taught. The willingness to share this most precious aspect of self is one of the most courageous acts of vulnerability we can do.
I am moved by the profound shifts in every session and every class.
I have been on both sides of this equation as a student and a teacher, client and practitioner, and it continues to expand me, shape me, blow my mind, move me to tears, and bring more beauty and bliss into my life.
This is how I navigate my life and this is what I share with others - Through all of our seeming failures and challenging times we cultivate something worthwhile.