Charles Thomas Curtis MW

Charles Thomas Curtis trained originally as a chef and honed his talents for more than a decade in a variety of cities, including Minneapolis, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C. and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.  He received the Grand Diplôme from Le Cordon Bleu Paris and apprenticed in Paris at the Crillon Hotel and at the restaurant La Grande Cascade.

Mr. Curtis earned his Diploma from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust of London, and in October 2004 became the 22^nd Master of Wine in the United States. 

Through the years, he has garnered a number of honors, including the prestigious “Bourse André Crispin” in 2002, presented by the Commanderie de Bordeaux aux Etats-Unis.  He continues his work with the Institute of Masters of Wine, speaking at their annual Education Seminar each year, and is also the organizer of the Institute’s Annual Champagne Tasting, held in New York and in San Francisco.

Since entering the wine trade in 1994, Mr. Curtis has worked in a variety of capacities prior to his current position as Head of North American Wine Sales for Christie's, including Director of Wine and Spirit Education for Moët Hennessy USA and stints as a salesperson, sales manager, general sales manager, and supplier representative.  In addition to these duties, he works as a journalist, author, consultant and wine judge.

As a journalist, his work has appeared in Harper’s (UK), the International Wine Review, Santé magazine (US) Aspen magazine, and Scottsdale magazine, and he was a contributing editor for champagne to “The Professional Wine Reference”, edited by Jean Reilly, and a contributor to “Wine Secrets” by Marnie Old, to appear later this year.

Charles has also appeared as a featured speaker at such wine and food festivals as the Masters of Food and Wine, Taste of Vail, Savor Dallas, the Hamptons Food and Wine Festival, the Kohler Food and Wine Festival, the Pittsburg Wine Festival, the Santé Restaurant Symposium, the American Food and Wine Festival at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, the Foxwoods Food and Wine Festival, the Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival and the Rochester Food & Wine Festival among others. 

He also appears as a guest lecturer at the Culinary Institute of America, Cornell University, Johnson & Wales University, Florida International University, and Stony Brook University, and as a speaker on several cruise lines.

In his free time, he and his family enjoy visiting New York’s many exciting restaurants, attending the Metropolitan Opera, cycling through Central Park and keeping up with the contemporary art scene.