Press
Tonya has been a judge for the San Francisco International Wine Competition for five years in a row, a speaker at Culinary Institute of America Summit for Beverage Professionals, a tasting panelist for Wine & Spirits Magazine and an advisor for the Fine Minds4Fine Wines think tank in Europe. In 2017, she was named to the Top 40 African American Tastemakers (Under/Over) 40 list. Of special note, Tonya has been instrumental in the annual Wine Spectator list for more than a decade, including receiving awards for her expansive and inclusive wine program.
Tonya has been featured in numerous news and industry publications, including CBS This Morning , ABC 7 News “Sips with Spencer,” Cherry Bombe, Daily Beast, Grape Collective, Jancis Robinson, Wine & Spirits Magazine, Somm Journal, Tasting Panel, Where Traveler, Wine Searcher, Wine Stream and Wonder Women of Wine.
Wine industry change-maker, Tonya Pitts, shares her journey
Award-winning sommelier Tonya Pitts has been featured on WhereTraveler, KQED, and ABC 7, and KPIX CBS SF, among many others.
Click on image to view video in new window.
Select Press
Awarded the 2022 Wine Star Awards Sommelier of the Year from Wine Enthusiast, recognized as a trailblazer by Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2020 in Rising Black Voices in Wine, Tonya Pitts leads the way for others in her industry. Read just a few articles below.
The Long Game of Aged White Wines
By Chasity Cooper
Aging like a fine wine” is an idiom often used to compliment someone as they embrace their maturity. When a wine’s assumed to have reached its prime, it can embody characteristics like luscious, rich, rustic, or gentle. Additionally, tannins and acidity are two structural traits that can help bring out the best in a vintage.
‘You Treat Everyone the Same with Dignity and Respect,’ Says Tonya Pitts, Sommelier of the Year | Wine Enthusiast’s 2022 Wine Star Awards
By Nils Bernstein
With her enthusiastic, individualized approach and a magnanimous charitable streak, Tonya Pitts is a prime example of how sommeliers can impact the wine world far beyond the confines of the restaurants whose lists they shepherd.
A Day in the Life of Wine Director Tonya Pitts
By Katie Sweeney
Tonya Pitts is One Market restaurant’s fantastic sommelier and wine director. Although she’s been in the beverage industry for over 20 years and works at one of San Francisco’s establishment restaurants, she’s incredibly down-to-earth, friendly, and approachable. Whether you want to know exactly how One Market’s special Iron Horse cuvee sparkling wine is made or simply are looking for the best Pinot Blanc, she kindly treats everyone’s needs, both high and low brow, equally.
The Rise of American Sommelier Tonya Pitts
By Victoria James
Long before master sommeliers were pop culture icons and the subject of TV series, Tonya Pitts was building wine programs with a sense of place and purpose. Throughout her 20-year career, she has been an advocate for featuring women and people of color on wine lists—even before that was a movement.
The many hues of wine talent
By Jancis Robinson
Andy Evans works in the rather smart wine department of John Lewis in London’s Oxford Street, a department store that virtually defines middle England. When I tweeted recently my shame at the lack of ethnic diversity in my world, the world of wine, he replied, referring to the standard professional wine qualification, ‘Amen! I have two Black* colleagues who are WSET qualified and experienced wine specialists. I get the wine questions from customers…