My name is Jorge Luis Lopez-Chavez and I am currently the Wine Director and Beer Buyer at the Produce Station in Ann Arbor. We have been hosting wine tastings since I started working there over 2 years ago and they have been always well-attended, fun, and successful. I have been in the wine industry since 1996, and have been a judge at national and international wine competitions.
After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1996 I realized that my General Studies degree (even though it was a tremendously rewarding experience) was not extremely conducive to much in my future. At the time I happened to be working part time in the wine department at the iconic Village Corner and I realized how wine, in all of its manifestations and tangents, incorporated the gamut of my studies–history, literature, anthropology, and religion, even philosophy. However, the most rewarding of all my human experiences have always been related to savoring the fruits of this Earth and I thank my family for that (plus the great cuisine and bounty of my native Peru). Therefore I could not pass the opportunity to engage in what I classified as my “Grad School” and inculcate myself with the knowledge of wine and food. I realize now that it has become the brunt of my existence. I cannot spend a day without cavorting over the pleasures of the palate and all of the social variety thereunder. Briefly stated: I enjoy food and wine and its history and I have never been the same since I started this love affair. Let me share this passion with you.