Allison Levine: I am lucky to be doing what I love for a living

Allison Levine is an LA-based freelance writer covering mainly the beverage realm (albeit with some organic overlap into food and travel), as well as a podcast host interviewing winemakers and winery owners. She is the owner of Please The Palate, a boutique agency specializing in marketing and event planning for the wine and spirits industry. Please The Palate is dedicated to providing seamless customer service.

Allison has designed and produced trade tastings in all major markets around the United States for wineries, wine associations and spirits companies, both domestic and international. With over 20 years of experience in communications, marketing and event planning, Allison is passionate about the world around her and the diverse people in it.

In one of her interviews, she said that wine had become part of her everyday life when she lived in Italy shortly after college. Shortly afterwards, she moved back to Los Angeles and a friend of a friend taught wine classes as a hobby so Allison started attending them, bringing friends with her each time. And then she got laid off from the dot.com world when the bubble burst in 2001. With lots of time on her hands, and a background in marketing communications and event planning, she offered to help the friend build his hobby into a business.

She has run a wine education company focused on consumers; She has sold wine for an importer/distributor; She worked for a wine critic, doing marketing and events for the wine trade. Throughout it all, She has been on a personal quest to learn anything she can about wine. After writing a lot of research papers she had never thought about writing about wine. But, at one job, Allison helped launch a national trade magazine and began writing for them.

“When I launched my own business in 2011, I decided to start a blog to share my experiences. Since friends always asked me where to eat or drink and where to go, I thought it was easier to write down what I was doing. I focused on my blog and would occasionally write for a couple trade magazines and along my travels, I have met some editors. Through casual conversations, I pitched a few story ideas and began writing for other outlets.”

As an industry expert, she works with wine regions around the world, organizing trade and media events around the United States. She is a regular contributor to the Napa Valley Register, Monarch.wine, Alcohol Professor, California Winery Advisor and BIN (Beverage Industry News). She is the host of the podcast WineSoundtrack USA where she interviews winemakers and winery owners who share their stories, insights and some humorous anecdotes. Allison regularly reviews wines in one-minute videos for the Wine Weirdos and is the co-host of Crush On This, weekly videos where three friends share their love of wine. Her work has also appeared in Wander with Wonder, Daily Ovation, ATOD Magazine, Wine Industry Advisor, Drizly, WineTouristMagazine, Thrillist, LA Weekly, Caviar Affair, LAPALME Magazine, FoodableTV, Drink Me Mag, WeSaidGoTravel.com, Wine Country This Week, SommJournal and The Tasting Panel.

Allison sits on the Board of the non-profit Vintage Hollywood and is the Wine Committee Chair for its annual food and wine charity event.