About Vinos Pingüinos
Vinos Pingüinos is a full service wine curation experience brought to you by a team that wants to share their passion. Join now to receive a box each release of extraordinary selections based on your appetite for discovery of natural wines from the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Enjoying Loire Valley Chenin Blanc at a recent Master Class.
Benjamin Lynn
Learning new things, exploring the world, and living life to its fullest: this is Ben’s personal manifesto. Leaving behind a career in architecture, he plunged head first into this wine adventure in 2019 when he enrolled in the NW Wine Academy. There he got his hands (and feet!) dirty doing all the wine-making things, lab analyses, tastings, food pairings, fork lifting barrels, and discovery of many exciting wines from around the globe.
Ben is especially passionate about the “natural,” low intervention wine movement. While school focused on more conventional approaches, it was essential for a wine rebel to learn what he was rebelling against. In this vein, he has even experimented at home making numerous wines of varying types and styles. Some of them were drinkable at best. Some were pretty freaking delicious. Either way, he discovered he is a wizard as wine-making is sorcery, grape alchemy, and magic-making that then becomes the intoxicating elixir in a glass we know and love.
At the onset of the pandemic, several friends asked if he would curate a selection of wines and bring it to them. Desperate to get out of the house, he asked “What’s my budget,” and had a blast with the assignment. This notion planted the seed that germinated Vinos Pingüinos. He realized many of his friends loved wine, but felt overwhelmed walking into a wine shop by all the options. What if there was a way to make wine more accessible? Further, could he share his excitement for the always fascinating intersection of subjects that wine brings together: art, science, geography, history, geology, gastronomy, and human culture? You’re about to find out!
Ben received his AAS in Wine Production, and a Certificate of Wine Marketing & Sales from the NWWA in 2022. He has also completed coursework with the Napa Wine Academy, and has taken numerous Master Classes with Cellar Muse. His favorite grape varietals are Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. The wine growing regions he is most excited about include the Loire Valley, Catalunya, and Croatia. He can’t resist a sparkling wine in any form.
Pierre
Did you know that Antarctica is the only continent that doesn’t grow grapevines? It’s amazing - what a time to be alive! Pierre is from the French part of Antarctica, and they are a curious soul with an adventurous spirit. As the Vinos Pingüinos mascot, Pierre is an avatar for you - our customer. They’re here to help you explore and learn about new wines from all over the world, spur fascinating discussions, and maybe make new friends along the way.
Pierre’s favorite wine is Albariño from Rias Baixas because it pairs perfectly with their favorite food: freshly caught seafood. They have a master’s degree in Enology from UC-Davis, but don’t get them started on wine chemistry. They’ll chirp your ear off about titratable acidity, and no one wants that.
Pierre is excited to try whatever you’re having.
