Our Mission

  • Provide a unique and welcoming environment for learning about and enjoying wine, food and the art of wine and food pairing.

  • Welcome guests with all levels of wine expertise and make them feel comfortable to ask questions and satisfy their curiosities about wine and food.

  • Introduce guests to a wide variety of wines, wineries, winemakers and cuisines from all over the world.

  • Create a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs, businesses and fundraisers to privately entertain their clients/target audiences.

  • Deliver a product/service that exceeds expectations and encourages clients to return.

Our Founders

BART LYNN
BART LYNNCo-Founder
Gourmet Wine Getaways’ co-founder Bart Lynn, a second generation native Californian, has always loved marketing and has loved wine almost as long. He and his wine expert business partner Peter Kerr founded Gourmet Wine Getaways (GWG) in 1996 with a desire to bring great wine, great food and great people together to allow people to increase their wine knowledge in a fun, conducive atmosphere.

Bart’s interest in wine was always there but it took hooking up with Peter to bring it out of the shadows. He freely admits that hanging around with Peter for the past 20+ years has enabled him to better appreciate wine & Peter’s talent for imparting his wine knowledge to others.

Bart’s jobs at the event are to make sure everything is in place, everyone (staff) understands what needs to be done and when, and to stay in touch with the clients at the event. Real-time feedback is something he solicits and values-“there is nothing like talking to the clients while something is fresh in their mind”. This feedback allows GWG to continually improve the events they create & make on the spot corrections if necessary. And, if a wine-related question should come up that he cannot answer, he simply finds Peter and lets him provide an answer that is clearly understood. Bart is not afraid to say “I don’t know”-something that all people wanting to learn about wine should be willing to do as well.

The best customers are happy, repeat customers; people saying “we enjoy what GWG is doing and we want to come to back”. This is what he strives for at every GWG event.

Come join us!

PETER KERR
PETER KERRCo-Founder
Few people are fortunate enough to take their love and passion for something and turn it into a career. Gourmet Wine Getaways’ Peter Kerr just happens to be one of those lucky people. His love of wine started when he lived in his native Ireland and could enjoy tasting and learning about wines from the best wine producing countries on the European continent. In 1980, he came to the US (to stay) and immediately became curious about the wines of California that he had only read about up until then.

He developed an insatiable desire to continue learning about US wines while adding Australia, New Zealand and South America to the mix as their offerings expanded. Then, it suddenly struck him – “What could be more fun than learning about and tasting all of these wines on his own?” He quickly realized that he wanted to share this love, passion and information with other wine drinkers. It didn’t matter their level of wine expertise; he loved talking with anyone who was interested in learning about wine and wine/food pairing. In 1996, Gourmet Wine Getaways was born –this was the perfect vehicle to accomplish his goal.

Today, there are many people walking this planet that have a lot of wine knowledge in their head. But, it can safely be said that there are few wine experts who can make everyone feel more at home at a wine event than Peter. His low-key, non-intimidating style allows event attendees to relax, enjoy and learn. Actually, once you meet him, there is probably no one you would want to be sitting next to at a wine dinner more than Peter.

He often says, “With wine, like many other things, the learning never stops. In fact, it’s half the fun”. Peter brings this background, professionalism and passion to every Gourmet Wine Getaways event. Join us, won’t you.

Gourmet Wine Getaways

The best wines are the ones we drink with friends. Join us!

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