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Meet Our Founder
The founder and host of BOTTLES+BATTLES, Richard started his professional life as an intellectual property litigator in Chicago. In 2019, he decided it was time for a new adventure. So he and his wife purchased a small wine and tapas bar in Southern France, which he began running on Halloween 2019.
Four months later, the entire world came to a halt when the COVID pandemic hit. For 10 months of the next two years, the bar would be closed due to lockdowns. So Richard took the opportunity to begin actively pursuing his interest in wine, eventually receiving Level 1, 2 and 3 wine certifications from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (the initial steps towards a Master of Wine certification).
Having recently closed the bar, Richard now spends his time writing about wine for the younger generation and building the brand. He plans to make BOTTLES+BATTLES his full-time job moving into the future.
How It All Started
While Richard was pursuing his wine certifications during the COVID lockdowns, he was also learning more about the rich and fascinating history of the surrounding region of Occitanie. During a visit to one of the local historic villages - Minerve - he was struck by the thought that the differing moods of the village perfectly matched the different profiles of one of the local wines - Françoise from Domaine Vordy. It was this inspiration that led to the birth of BOTTLES+BATTLES.