Lars Leicht

About Lars Leicht

38-years wine industry veteran Wholesale, International, Marketing, Hospitality, Executive, PR, Luxury, Education Fluent Italian simultaneous translator and guide Working knowledge of Spanish, familiarity with German, Latin Passionate, respected communicator of Italy’s wine and food culture 10 years of professional newspaper writing experience Detail-oriented, thorough, diplomatic, concise, flexible, accomplishedAs VP of Education for The SOMM Journal and Tasting Panel Magazine, Lars moderates regular wine education webinars and writes focused editorial features on winemakers, wineries, vineyards and wines; he has guided press trips for producer consortiums and enrichment tours for the SOMM Foundation to the vineyards and wineries of Italy for the Guild of Sommeliers, was translator and advisor for the movie “SOMM” and made a cameo appearance in the sequel “SOMM II: Into the Bottle.” He developed and serves as “Dean” of Cru Artisan College, an educational initiative touring multiple winemakers in key US cities with insightful seminars and exceptional tastings. A frequent presenter at SommCon and TexSomm, he has led cooking and wine classes at Central Market in Texas, PubliX in Florida, and Degustibus Cooking School in New York, in addition to standing annual appointments to lead seminars at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Business, Columbia University Law School, and the North Miami campus of Johnson and Wales University, as well as consumer webinars.

Experience

1. Vice President of Education

   The Somm Journal, Llc

   Jul 2019 — Present · Encino, CA, US

   The Somm Journal has appointed wine Industry veteran Lars Leicht as Vice President and Director – Communications and Trade Relations. In his role, Leicht will write for the publication, organize special wine education events, moderate wine seminars, coordinate sponsorship activities, and assist with web content and social media. He reports directly to Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Meridith May.The appointment returns Leicht to his journalistic roots coupled with his extensive wine industry experience. Beginning his professional career as a reporter for the Daily Star in Oneonta, NY, his focus on Italian language and culture brought him to Banfi Vintners, America’s leading importer of fine wine. In various sales, marketing and public relations leadership roles over 33 years, he represented the portfolio across the US, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean and Asia, working directly with the firm’s Mariani family proprietors and developing an unprecedented hospitality program at their Castello Banfi estate in Montalcino, Tuscany. He has led press trips to Chile and Italy, spoken at sommelier conferences, various cooking schools and culinary universities, and appeared in the movie, Somm II: Into the Bottle. Since 1998 Leicht has brought over 100 wine professionals on scholarship trips to Italy for SommFoundation and SommSouth. As founder and de-facto ‘Dean’ of Cru College, he has brought Italian winemakers on barnstorming trips across the US for insightful seminars and exceptional tastings. The Somm Journal is a bi-monthly subscription-based publication founded in 2008 for sommeliers and others in the restaurant and wine business. In January of 2014 Meridith May, Publisher/Executive of The Tasting Panel, re-branded the magazine under its current format, addressing the interests of those currently in the industry as well as future working chefs, restaurateurs, retailers, mixologists, and wine professionals.

Education

• Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management

  Executive Development