Founder, Creator, & Educator

Specialty: Social media management for small wineries, wine education, & events

For more than two decades, Erin Palmer has been an important voice in the Oregon wine scene. She began her career by founding The Portland Wine Cellar in Cedar Mill, which grew from a small shop into a successful retail wine store and wine bar. In 2005, she opened a second location, Vino Vixens, on Portland’s East Side—a vibrant wine shop and bar known for live music and community gatherings. She sold Vino Vixens in 2008 and The Portland Wine Cellar in 2023, allowing her to focus on the next chapter of her work in wine, education, and advocacy.

Erin has taught wine classes privately and through Portland Community College since 2002, leading more than 2,000 classes with over 30,000 student registrations. She has poured at more than 1,000 wine tastings and events and is known for engaging, historically grounded classes that connect regional traditions, grape varieties, and growing conditions to what’s in the glass. Her deep appreciation for the Oregon and Washington wine industries makes her a passionate advocate for local producers.

In addition to education, Erin specializes in high-energy social media engagement, building winery and wine festival accounts from the ground up and helping small producers connect meaningfully with consumers. She also serves on the Mentorship Committee for Women in Wine Oregon, where supporting the personal and professional success of women in the industry is central to her work.

Following her family’s experience navigating traumatic brain injury recovery, Erin co-founded NeuroMoms Collective, a nonprofit supporting families of TBI survivors through resources and a podcast. She recently delivered a keynote on resilience for Women’s History Month with the American Association for Women in Community Colleges, scroll up to listen to the full talk to explore how community, caregiving, and authenticity shape resilient leadership.

Wine Educator

Specialty: Oregon wines, fermentation science, and sustainability in wine

Meet our fermentation scientist and sustainability champion, Andy! Andy holds a degree in Fermentation Science from Oregon State University and has a deep passion for all things fermented, including wine, beer, cider, and sake. With nearly 20 years of experience in wine production, Andy felt a calling to transition from the cellar to the classroom, both as a student and an instructor. In 2024 Andy received his WSET Diploma, the highest level of wine education offered by the Wine & Spirits Education Trust.

In 2021, he teamed up with Erin Palmer to further develop his skills as a wine educator. Since then, Andy has taught through Portland Community College and The Portland Wine Cellar, in addition to working with numerous private clients, including Nike and Intel. Guests consistently appreciate Andy's approachable and clear teaching style, finding his instruction not only enjoyable but also exceptionally informative.

Andy has a strong commitment to promoting sustainability in the wine industry. He is dedicated to educating others on how small changes can lead to significant impacts. His dream is to see sustainable practices become the norm in the wine industry, and he is actively contributing to this vision, one class at a time!

We highly recommend Andy for groups who wish to dig into the nitty gritty of wine.

Read an article that Andy wrote:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2024.2419333

Wine Buyer

Specialty: Searching out hard to find wines and super deals

Rob has been an icon in the wine industry for more than three decades! Starting in the Castro District Rob was part of a cult wine shop that housed libraries of Ports and Champagnes. When he relocated to Portland in 2011 he joined Erin Palmer at The Portland Wine Cellar. There he not only built his own loyal client base, but he became an exceptional wine buyer.

Rob holds his WSET 2 and a lifetime of knowledge. With a passion for all things French coupled with decades in California, he has the most well-rounded love of chardonnay in all styles. And he’s by far the most skilled food and wine pairing expert we know.

Now he’s taking those decade of experience to work with PDX Wine Events. Rob mostly works behind the scenes, but you’ll spy him regularly at wine festivals, auctions, and tastings.

Of course, if you can’t find him locally, he’s likely wandering the streets of Paris… his home away from home.