01
Practical knowledge
Understand the regions, styles, labels, and terminology that help you make sense of a wine list or bottle.
Scroll to explore
Wine fluency is a business skill you were never taught.
Learn to choose, talk about, and genuinely enjoy wine at client dinners, corporate events, and every table where relationships get built.
Free weekly wine tips, two minutes a week. Join the newsletter0
years in wine retail, education & private clienteling
0
wine certifications (CMC, IWS, FWS, WSET)
0
wine program managed
0
classes taught to professionals
“I’ve watched brilliant professionals go quiet the second a wine list lands in front of them.”
Here’s the good news: of everything you’ve had to master in your career, this is the easiest gap to close, and honestly, the most fun.
— Shilpa
Your wine fluency expert. Zero snobbery. All practical.
Shilpa Moorthy has spent 13+ years making wine make sense, on retail floors, in classrooms, and inside a $11M wine program. She’s helped hundreds of professionals feel at home with wine, and she has one rule: it has to be fun.
Her approach is simple. Take an intimidating subject, strip out what you don’t need, and hand you the parts you’ll actually use, a habit she picked up in an earlier career as an intelligence analyst, where the job was distilling complex information down to what matters.
Expect real depth, no lectures, and a guide who’s traveled the world’s great wine regions and can’t wait to share the shortcuts.
Meet ShilpaBuilt for the way professionals actually use wine
Wine knowledge can go deep. For professionals, the most useful starting point is knowing what matters in the moments you actually encounter: a client dinner, a corporate event, a gift, a tasting, or a conversation where wine is part of the experience.
Certified Master of Champagne with Honors (CMC)
Italian Wine Scholar with Honors (IWS)
French Wine Scholar with Honors (FWS)
WSET Level 4 Diploma Candidate (5 of 6 units complete)
WSET Level 3 & Level 2
13+ years in wine retail, education, and private clienteling
Former U.S. Intelligence Officer, Department of Defense
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
M.A. International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University
Certified Master of Champagne with Honors (CMC)
Italian Wine Scholar with Honors (IWS)
French Wine Scholar with Honors (FWS)
WSET Level 4 Diploma Candidate (5 of 6 units complete)
WSET Level 3 & Level 2
13+ years in wine retail, education, and private clienteling
Former U.S. Intelligence Officer, Department of Defense
B.S. Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
M.A. International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University
The professional skill you were never taught.
You’ve invested in your education, your presence, and your professional skills. Wine can be part of that same confidence, whether you’re at a client dinner, hosting an event, choosing a bottle, or joining a conversation where wine is part of the room.
Wine fluency gives you the knowledge to navigate those moments naturally, make informed choices, and stay focused on the people around you.
The moments wine fluency makes easier
When the decision lands on you
You can choose, ask questions, and make a recommendation without second-guessing yourself.
When wine enters the conversation
You know enough to participate comfortably, understand what’s being discussed, and keep the conversation moving.
When you’re hosting or entertaining
You can handle the wine details with confidence and give your attention to the people who matter.
When you’re choosing for someone else
Whether it’s a client gift, a dinner, or a special occasion, you can make a thoughtful choice without needing to become a wine expert.
When you simply want to feel at ease
You have a practical foundation you can draw on wherever wine shows up, from a restaurant to a corporate event to a private gathering.
How wine fluency changes the experience
Wine fluency gives you practical knowledge you can actually use. You learn how to understand what’s in front of you, ask better questions, communicate what you like, and navigate wine etiquette without overthinking it.
The result is greater confidence, easier conversations, and more attention for the people across the table.
What clients are saying
Real reactions from professionals who’ve learned with Shilpa.
“Shilpa is so knowledgeable about wine, and loves to share! Thank you, Shilpa, for all of your support at my Wine, Women, and Wealth group.”
“Shilpa is a powerhouse of info and full of passion, your personal wine guide!”
Wine fluency has a place in business
The moments that happen around a table can influence more than the meal itself. Professional dining skills can play a meaningful role in business conversations, client relationships, and outcomes.
0%
of executives say dining skills impact deals
0%
say dining skills impact brand and bottom line
0%
more likely to close a deal over a face-to-face meal
Built for the way professionals actually use wine
Wine knowledge can go deep. For professionals, the most useful starting point is knowing what matters in the moments you actually encounter: a client dinner, a corporate event, a gift, a tasting, or a conversation where wine is part of the experience.
Wine fluency gives you a practical foundation you can build on as your knowledge grows.
What you’ll learn
01 / 05
02
Real-world communication
Know how to describe what you like, ask useful questions, and work comfortably with a sommelier or wine merchant.
03
Professional etiquette
Handle the rituals around wine with ease, from the tasting pour to hosting and serving.
04
Confidence in the moment
Make decisions without second-guessing yourself, whether you’re choosing for yourself, your table, a client, or a gift.
The result
You build the working knowledge to navigate wine situations with more confidence, communicate naturally, and stay focused on the people around you.
Get started with wine fluencyBuilt for your schedule
Learn in focused, practical lessons that fit between meetings and other professional commitments.
Three ways to work with Shilpa
01 / 03
Whether you want to learn at your own pace, bring wine fluency to your team, or have a wine fluency expert in your corner, there’s a way to make it part of your professional life.
01 — Digital course
Build practical wine fluency on your own schedule
A self-paced course designed around the wine situations you’re most likely to encounter, with practical lessons you can fit between meetings.
- Real-world lessons. Learn through the situations you actually face, with deeper dives into regions and grapes when you want them.
- Five-minute lessons. Focused learning designed to fit your schedule.
- Practical communication. Learn how to talk about wine, ask better questions, and make informed choices.
- What you’ll gain. A practical foundation you can use the next time wine is part of the conversation.
02 — The experience
Bring wine fluency to your team or event
Corporate training and private experiences that combine real wine education with an engaging, approachable experience.
- Guided tastings. Build wine confidence while creating an experience your team will remember.
- Client-facing skills. Give the people who lead the table practical tools for navigating wine with ease.
- Retreats & summits. Add a wine-focused experience to your agenda or make it the centerpiece of the evening.
- What your team will gain. More confidence around wine and more attention for the relationships that matter.
03 — Private advisory
Have a wine fluency expert in your corner
A personal advisory relationship for executives who want expert guidance across the wine decisions that come with their professional and personal lives.
- Sourcing & allocations. Recommendations for bottles, collections, and special purchases.
- Travel planning. Wine-focused itineraries built around what you want to experience.
- Gifting & events. Guidance for corporate gifts, client occasions, boardroom bottles, and private events.
- Direct access. Expert input when a wine list, bottle, gift, cellar question, or last-minute decision comes up.
Five skills for navigating wine with confidence
Wine fluency comes from understanding the parts of wine that actually show up in professional and social situations. The method focuses on five practical skills you can use wherever wine is part of the experience.
IRegions & styles
Understand the world’s major wine regions and styles well enough to know what to expect when you encounter a wine.
IIDecoding the label
Read a wine label with confidence: producer, region, vintage, and style, so you can make informed choices.
IIIStrategic communication
Talk about wine naturally, describe what you like, ask useful questions, and work comfortably with a sommelier or wine merchant.
IVProfessional etiquette
Navigate the rituals around wine with ease, from the tasting pour and cork to hosting and serving.
VAI & modern resources
Use AI and modern tools as practical wine resources, while knowing when expert human guidance is the better choice.
“My job isn’t to turn you into a sommelier, sommeliers are brilliant at what they do. My job is to give you enough working knowledge of wine to feel at home in any room where it’s part of the conversation, and to help you spot the great sommeliers when you meet them.”
— Shilpa Moorthy See the method in action
Behind the Wine Fluency Method
More than a decade of teaching, clienteling and high-level wine programs.
The Wine Fluency Method comes from more than a decade of teaching, private clienteling, and working inside high-level wine programs, with a focus on making complex wine knowledge practical for real people and real situations.
Shilpa brings that experience together in a way that makes wine easier to understand, easier to talk about, and much more useful in the moments that matter.
Meet Shilpa
Our mission
To give client-facing professionals the practical wine fluency they were never taught, so they can walk into dinners, mixers, tastings, and other wine situations prepared, confident, and focused on the relationships that matter.
Our vision
A professional world where people feel comfortable and capable wherever wine is part of the experience, and where confidence at the table comes from preparation and practical knowledge.
Wine as a professional skill
Professional life increasingly happens behind screens, but some of the most meaningful conversations still happen around a table.
Wine fluency gives people the knowledge and confidence to navigate those moments naturally, leaving more attention for the conversation, the experience, and the people across from them.
Feel at home wherever wine is part of the conversation
Wine is already part of professional life, at client dinners, corporate events, celebrations, gifts, and the conversations that happen around the table.
Build the practical wine fluency to navigate those moments with confidence, make informed choices, and stay focused on the people around you.
What changes when you’re wine fluent
Walk in preparedHandle wine situations with greater ease and confidence.
Ask better questionsKnow what to ask and how to communicate what you want.
Make informed choicesChoose wines for yourself, your table, your clients, or a gift.
Stay presentSpend less mental energy worrying about wine and more time engaging with the people around you.
Wine fluency for professionals zero snobbery
Wine fluency for professionals zero snobbery
Build your wine fluency, one week at a time
The Versed in Vino newsletter is a quick, practical read designed to make wine easier to understand and navigate, one useful idea at a time.
- What you’ll get
- One practical wine tip each week: what to order, what to say, what to pour.
- Simple steps toward wine fluency you can use at your next dinner, event, or gathering.
- Shilpa’s perspective on the wine questions professionals actually ask.
Why subscribe
A few minutes a week can give you practical knowledge you can use the next time wine is part of the experience.
One practical wine tip a week — two minutes to read.
The 3 wines on almost every menu
Free download
The 3 wines on almost every menu
Pinot Noir. Chardonnay. Cabernet Sauvignon.
Get familiar with these three wines and have a reliable starting point the next time you’re choosing a bottle, joining a dinner, or navigating a restaurant menu.
You don’t need to memorize an entire wine list. This one-page guide gives you a simple explanation of each wine so you can recognize it, make a confident choice, and talk about it without overthinking it.
- What you’ll get
- The 3 wines to know. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon, plus why each is a useful choice in a professional setting.
- One-sentence explainers. A simple way to understand and talk about each wine without unnecessary jargon.
- Real-world pairings. How these wines work with the kinds of meals you’re likely to encounter at a business dinner.
- The smart ask. One useful question to ask a sommelier so you can get closer to what you actually want.
- One-page reference. Save it, print it, or pull it up on your phone before your next dinner.