Affiliation : Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Location : Chicago, IL, USA

 

Director of Wine and Spirits, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc.

Born and raised in Monterey, California, it was only natural that Alpana Singh would develop an interest in wine. The thirty-one year old currently serves as the Director of Wine and Spirits for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. Her duties include wine education & training, purchasing and bar program development for the Chicago based restaurant group. Alpana also moonlights as the host of the popular restaurant review television show, “Check, Please!” which airs weekly on WTTW Channel 11.

Alpana was born to Indian parents who moved to California from the Fiji Islands. The family owned an ethnic grocery store in Monterey where Alpana worked at an early age; a life experience that she credits for her present day work ethic and ease with people of all ages.

After high school graduation, Alpana attended college by day and waited tables by night. It was during this time that she discovered her love for wine and found that it combined her varied interests of geography, history and food. It was one of those life-changing moments when Alpana made the decision to pursue this newfound love as a career. She achieved her goal of becoming a Master Sommelier by passing the final exam in 2003.

Prior to her position at Lettuce, Alpana served as sommelier for Chef J. Joho’s Relais Gourmand and Traditions et Qualité restaurant Everest, which USA Today credited as having “the country’s best selection of Alsatian wine.” Wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. praised Alpana in his publication the Wine Advocate as “one of the finest young sommeliers in America today.” Her past accolades also include Best Sommelier in America by Wine and Spirits Magazine, Crain’s 40 under 40, Food and Wine Magazines 35 Under 35, Best Sommelier Chicago Magazine 2004, and a 2002 James Beard Foundation Nomination for Wine Service. She has also been featured in numerous publications including Newsweek, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times and the New York Times.

Alpana Singh and her husband Charles Blackstone reside in Chicago.