LAMar Engel Lamar Engel’s background is in the entertainment industry. The Canadian-born rocker toured Canada and the United States in a punk rock band for fourteen years, and then was in a progressive art rock band. Instead of becoming a stereotypical rocker, he and his band members would often drink wine and have intellectual conversations after their shows. This led Lamar to his outside-the-box creativity and thinking. When family duties called, he realized he needed to get off the road and have a more stable lifestyle. He moved to San Francisco in 1998 and met Master Sommelier Larry Stone, who introduced Lamar to the wine business. He’s now worked at a number of wineries and has earned his third level Sommelier degree. In 2008 he started The Wine Militia, a revolutionary wine solutions and wine educational company that strives to deliver swanky and fun wine events for large or small crowds. With the out-of-the-box mentality, The Wine Militia does underground popup dinners, underground tastings, theme parties like “Prohibition,” and dinner theaters in intimate settings. “My goal is to help my clients find the right fit for their demographic or target audience,” he said. Though Lamar’s company has worked for big corporate business in Silicon Valley, he said his heart is always in Napa. “This idea of doing murder mysteries or underground popups comes from my days as a singer and musician,” Lamar said. “We are all performers or actors, and the ritual of wine is so fascinating, it’s the perfect pairing.” – Kari Ruel 24 www. n A PAVA L L E Y L I F E m a g a zein. c o m photo by ART & CLARITY
NVLife_JanFeb_2015
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