Do you love drinking wine but don’t know enough about how to pick the right wines? Are you intimidated by wine? Tonight’s Meet a Mom, Heather Muriello, felt the same but took the opportunity to create Winefarer, a wine and lifestyle blog and social media presence @winefarer that simplifies the world of wine through approachable tasting notes, fun content, real life experiences and stories!
Heather, who will be Greenwich Mom’s own future Wine Contributor, moved to Greenwich during the pandemic with her husband and two kids and hasn’t looked back. She shares with us how she became a wine expert and how to best learn about wine: through tasting and traveling. She breaks it down to make it easier to understand and takes out the intimidation.
Please tell us a bit about your family and life in Greenwich (names/ages of kids, where you live, etc), what do you like to do as a family?
A story I’m sure you’ve heard a few times before, we moved from NYC to Old Greenwich due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had our second baby at its peak in April 2020, stuck it out for a few months and then bolted to the burbs! What a crazy time! Even though it was a bit abrupt, my husband Adam, son Henry (4yrs) + daughter Lila (2yrs) and I could not be happier! We’ve always loved being close to the water so Old Greenwich was a perfect fit! The community feel of the town and all of the surrounding activities like Binney Park, Tod’s Point, the Library, even the fire station(!!) all at our fingertips is quite special! And we can’t forget the Pao De Queijo at Sweet Pea’s!
For anyone who isn’t familiar, how would you describe Winefarer?
Winefarer is a wine and lifestyle blog and social media presence @winefarer that simplifies the world of wine through approachable tasting notes, fun content, real life experiences and stories! My goal is to encourage my readers and followers to live their best wine life in non-intimidating way. Let’s face it, wine can be intimidating and sometimes even a bit snobby, so why not break it down, make it easier to understand and have some fun while sipping!
Can you please share about your professional background and what led you to launch Winefarer?
I’ve been in start-up and corporate marketing for a combined 13ish years, all the while I’ve been studying wine off and on. My passion for wine started after college at the entertainment marketing start-up I was working for. We’d go out to amazing dinners and every time the wine list would get passed around, I would hide because it was like a foreign language to me! I knew I liked the taste of wine but knew nothing about it. I took an intro class at Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) and was hooked! What started as a blog, and social media presence has evolved to working with wine brands as a content creator, managing wine clients social media strategy and doing some wine writing for online publications/blogs etc! I’m WSET 2 Certified and am currently studying for my Italian Wine Scholar with Wine Scholars Guild. I favor and specialize in Italian wine because, well I just love everything about Italy!
Many of us love to drink wine, but don’t know enough about it, what is the best way to start to learn about wine?
Well I’d love to have you follow me to learn a little more but I will say the ultimate way to learn about wine is through TASTING AND TRAVEL! While it’s great to have wine study as a foundation to wine to help with the terminology, how wine is made etc., nothing compares to real life experiences! Talking to the winemaker, feeling the soil, breathing the air, pairing wine with its authentic food, emerging yourself in the “terroir” is the best way to self educate! Now when I think about vacations, I think about which wine destinations to travel to next. And it seems obvious but the more you taste, the more you understand the differences between wine styles and your palate.
Do you have a favorite vineyard you have visited?
Yes! Emidio Pepe in Abruzzo Italy. It has some of my favorite wines from Italy, Pecorino and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. It has such a rich history and a gorgeous Agriturismo that you can stay at with dinner and wine pairings each night and even vertical tastings! Everything overlooks the rolling hills of Abruzzo! It’s just a dream!
What restaurant in Greenwich has your favorite wine choices?
If you couldn’t tell already, I have a soft spot for Italian wine! I love Polpo’s wine list so much! Also, in my personal opinion, the energy in the bar is just FIRE! Aperol Spritz anyone?
I know this is a hard one, what is your favorite wine?
Next question please. Just kidding. It really all depends on my mood and the weather. It’s been a bit rainy and cold recently so I’ve been cozying up with a savory Barbera d’Asti. It’s high in acidity and light in tannins so it’s a wonderful transitional wine from summer to fall! Happy to explain what that all means over a glass of wine! 😀
Your social media is awesome, how did you build up your following and learn to make fun reels/videos?
Thank you so much! It means a lot because there is so much time that goes into the creation and planning of content! It’s a lot of trial and error but I always try to focus back to these three ideas when creating a content and posting for some of my clients which is what’s helped to build a following: EDUCATE, CONSISTENCY, AUTHENTICITY.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I shared a reel on this so I think it’s super important when thinking about wine. Don’t be intimated or swayed by wine ratings, high price points and crazy hype wines because at the end of the day, each palate and experience is different and you like what you like!
We love to support local businesses. What are your fave places locally to:
Grab coffee: If I’m not making it at home (I have a whole system) I love Raphael’s with Oat Milk Foam!
Workout: Walk or run around Tod’s Point or tennis at GRC! (still need to find a good pilates spot!)
Go on a date night: If I could have a standing table at Polpo every month, I would!
Go out for a girls night: Le Fat Poodle
Go out to dinner as a family: Louie’s – Love that backroom behind the closed curtain for the kids lol
Get your hair done: Maison Alexander + Warren Tricomi
Get your nails done: My friend told me about Tip Top on Havemeyer and it’s fast and quality just like the city!
Have fun as a family: The beach, Binney park, or on our little Boston whaler on the sound!
