Wine Judges
Kipp Galleymore
Maria Ghiglieri
Experience: SWE: Certififed Specialist of Wine
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 12 Years
Favorite part of judging Rodeo Uncorked!
I love the science behind wine and the way it is like a puzzle. The same ingredients are used (generally) and yet, it always comes out differently! To see this in action by tasting wines in specific classes is truly awesome.
Theodore Ghiglieri
Experience: Chef in Bowling Green, Kentucky; WSET: Level 2 in Wines
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 5 Years
Nathan Graham
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 7 Years
Michael Graves
Experience: WSET: Level 2 in Wines
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 12 Years
What made you first interested?
When in college I was on the board of a housing co-op. I convinced them to fund a wine tasting and got the local “Vintages” store to help me do the research and pick the wines. It was a blast. And very well received. Even if the effort was lost on some of my beer swilling friends.
Benjamin Green
Experience: Texas Wine Grape Grower Certification – Texas Tech
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 9 Years
Why work in wine?
I love the exploration of the wines and how much the location, environment, processes and more impact the finished product and the overall variability in wine.
Echo Green
Experience: CMS: Introductory Sommelier
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 7 Years
Favorite part of judging Rodeo Uncorked!
I am a Rodeo scholar and this is a great way to give back and have fun while giving lots of consumers at Rodeo something they will enjoy too. It’s fun to see the wines you judged and have them in the Wine Garden with friends after the competition – and find out what you judged once the results are released!
Peyton Gutierrez Lewis
Experience: WSET: Level 3; WSET Diploma Candidate; Wine Pairing & Gifting Consultant; Cellar Management & Private tastings; @peywithatwist content creation & UGC; Sommnights Verified Wine Guide; FWSSR Vine 2 Wine Competition Judge 3 years
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: Second Year
What makes a wine memorable to youÑeven after you’ve tasted hundreds or thousands of wines?
Wine is like a science! Things are always changing and being discovered and there are many variables that go into every bottle. It’s so fun to discover those, what your preferences are, and pair others with the perfect bottle! Sweet, Fortified, and Rare/Old wines are my favorite!
Una Hadzimahmutovic
Experience: WSET – Wine Level 3; CMS – Certified Sommelier; WSG – French Wine Scholar, Italian Wine Scholar, Spanish Wine Scholar
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 9 Years
Scott Hall
Experience: WSET Level 3 Certified; Certified Texas Wine Specialist; Certified Texas Wine Ambassador. Host and producer of the Texas Under Vine podcast (4 years). Regional wine judge experience includes the Houston Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition, San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Wine Competition, and Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo Wine Competition.
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 2 Years
What makes a wine memorable to youÑeven after you’ve tasted hundreds or thousands of wines?
A great wine is like a photograph in a bottle. A captured moment of time, weather, and place with every single vintage. What makes a wine truly unforgettable is that distinct sense of terroir and the story it tells about the hands that crafted it.
Gail Harrison
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 8 Years
Why work in wine?
As a consumer, wine provides me a continuous learning experience. The grape vine, the climate/soil, harvesting, de-stem/crush, fermentation, clarification, aging and bottling, and finally the tasting tell a story that I as a consumer appreciate.
Cindy Hart
Experience: WSET: Level 3, Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS), Specialist of Texas Wine, Certified Wines of Chile Ambassador
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 9 Years
What makes a wine memorable to youÑeven after you’ve tasted hundreds or thousands of wines?
Checking off all the boxes at once: Smell, taste, food pairing, environment!
Tammy Heizelman
Experience: SWE: Certified Wine Specialist; WSET: Level 3 in Wines; French Wine Scholar; Italian Wine Scholar; Spanish Wine Scholar; Specialist of Texas Wine
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 9 Years
What makes a wine memorable to youÑeven after you’ve tasted hundreds or thousands of wines?
Sharing your wine experiences with people make your wine more important, meaningful, and memorable.
Christine Hollenberg
Experience: Attended many tasting classes at Rice University with Bear Dalton, have traveled extensively to wine regions Italy, Portugal, Spain, Argentina, Chile and Washington, Oregon, California, Finger Lakes and Texas of course!
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 14 Years
Why work in wine?
My father started a wine tasting group in St. Louis when I was an infant. I grew up in homes filled with laughing and wine tasting – he died in 2004 and I started learning more to honor his memory.
Lori Huffman
Experience: 25 years experience in the wine industry from working for a distributor, running a distributorship of super high end wines, working retail, working as national sales manager for a winery out of central CA, and now owning a wine bar/restaurant for the last 3.5 years. In addition, I was on the wine committee from literally, day one of it’s start until moving out of town and still tried to maintain that for awhile. I’ve Judged since the first time and have been a panel head over 10 times.
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 23 Years
Favorite part of judging Rodeo Uncorked!
Seeing everyone that I don’t have the opportunity to see during the year as well as tasting excellent quality wines and doing my very best to always give every wine it’s best chance! The wineries put a lot into this, and I truly enjoy making them proud of their decision to enter the competition.
Lorie Jacobs
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 9 Years
What’s something about judging wine that most people would be surprised to learn?
Most people would be surprised by how collaborative judging is! Heading into my tenth year, the conversations are still one of my favorite parts. We work in panels of five, comparing impressions and discussing what makes a wine stand outÑespecially when choosing our class champions and reserve champions. Everyone brings a different perspective, and another judge will often notice something that sends me back to my glass for another taste. Those discussions help us assess each wine fairly, and I always come away having learned something new!
Chuck Jenkins
Experience: Bisou- Wine Director; CMS: Certified Sommelier; SWE: Certified Specialist of Wine; Napa Valley Wine Educators Academy (WEA) Graduate 25+ years in the Houston wine industry
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 10 Years
What are your tips for others?
You can read all you want, but here’s no substitute for popping corks!
Tom Jensen
Experience: 10 years fine dining GM and Floor Somm. 20 years in Wine sales as both distributor and supplier. CSW, Certified Sommelier, WSET Level 2
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 9 Years
What are your favorite books and movies?
Kurt Vonnegut, Charles Bukowski, Cormac McCarthy. Oh yeah, all those Wine writers too.
Monica Jones
Experience: Wine Writer and Educator; WSET: Level 2 in Wines; Specialist of Texas Wine (ASTW)
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: 3 Years
Why work in wine?
Discovery feeds my passion to work in wine. I look forward to sharing my passion for wine, especially Texas wines, with curious palates. There’s always a new wine to sip and a new region to explore.
Tatiana Kelly
Experience: Over 10 years in hospitality industry; WSET 3 certified; Wine Fundamentals Instructor, 3 years on Wine Garden
Rodeo Uncorked! Judge: First Year
If you could share a bottle of wine with anyoneÑpast or presentÑwho would it be and what would you pour?
I would share a bottle of her favorite Riesling or pop a great British bubbles with Queen Elizabeth (the second) herself.