Evan Goldstein, MS

Evan Goldstein calls himself “trilingual x 3:” He “speaks” three languages – wine, food, and wine-and-food pairings – and can do so in three languages to boot – French, Portuguese, and English. An internationally recognized authority and educator, Goldstein is a born teacher who has dedicated his adult life to introducing and sharing with others his passion for wine.

One of just 269 Master Sommeliers worldwide, Goldstein has authored four books, and co-authored several more. He is also a Founding Board Member of the Best USA Sommelier Association (BUSA, and a contributing editor to the Oxford Companion to Wine (5th edition, publication 2023). Not least, in tandem with business partner Limeng Stroh, Goldstein heads up two companies: Full Circle Wine Solutions (President & Chief Education Officer) and Master the World (Co-founder & Chief Wine Officer). This (very busy) people-person has a warm sense of humor that has won him friends and fans throughout the wine industry worldwide while spreading the gospel of food, wine, and food-and-wine-pairings through “edu-tainment.” According to Goldstein, you should be able to “laugh while you are learning.”

Goldstein’s latest venture with Stroh is Master the World (MTW). An innovative wine education platform for wine enthusiasts and industry professionals, MTW comprises a blind tasting kit with a companion online evaluation experience designed to increase wine knowledge and train your palate.

Concurrently, Stroh and Evan run Full Circle Wine Solutions (FCWS), a top California-based wine marketing and education firm. As an “educators’ educator,” Goldstein has access to a huge network of contacts garnered over decades of wine industry experience. He created education programs, wine training and service hospitality schools with Seagram Chateau & Estates, Diageo, Allied Domecq, and Beam Wine Estates.

As a founding board member for the Court of Master Sommeliers, Goldstein, for the last 30 years has been training and examining candidates. Goldstein passed the prestigious Master Sommelier examination age 26 in 1987, just the eighth American to do so and youngest ever at the time.

Goldstein’s formal wine and food education began at age 19, working in the kitchens of Restaurant Le Saintongeais and the Hotel Lancaster in Paris, Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley, and Chez Panisse Café in Berkeley, California.

In 1984 Goldstein joined his mother, chef, and author Joyce Goldstein, in opening the celebrated Square One where, as sommelier, his wine lists received myriad awards. Together, they went on to co-author Wine and Food Pairing in the Williams Sonoma Lifestyles series (1999). Once bitten by the writing bug, Goldstein wrote the critically acclaimed Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food followed by a sequel and a book on South American wines.

Today, Goldstein continues to spread the gospel of wine and food. He has been included twice in IntoWine.com’s “Top 100 Most Influential People in the U.S. Wine Industry,” starting with the debut list released in 2013, and again in 2018.

Does this expert rest on his laurels? Not a chance! With new vintages, new regions, an industry that is constantly changing, you are constantly confronted with “I didn’t know that.” Wordsmith Evan Goldstein calls it being “Wine’s humble servant.”