Meet Kim Kachmar | Wine Educator & Content Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kim Kachmar and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kim, how do you think about risk?
I believe that risk-taking is important to create the life you want. However I don’t find it easy. I’m a cautious person who is always thinking a few steps ahead and risk scares me, but at the same time I’ve learned that it’s important to take risks when they are pointing towards your dreams. For example, I took a risk to start working in wine. I lost my former career job during the pandemic and could have gotten another job in the same field, but I took the risk to pursue working in the wine industry and starting my wine education and events business, Together With Wine.

It was scary to leave what I knew and pursue a path that wasn’t what I got my college degree in, but it was a risk that would get me closer to what I dreamed: working in a field I love, joyfully teaching and creating, and helping people get more confident and knowledgeable about wine. If I hadn’t taken the risk, I wouldn’t be where I am now, and that’s why a risk that will take you closer to your dreams is the one to take.

Lastly, for any other cautious people out there like me, I want to share a new perspective that cautiousness is a strength. I always thought it was a negative characteristic, but I’ve come to realize that it makes me a strategic, thoughtful planner, which is great in any job and especially in running a business.

What should our readers know about your business?
Together With Wine is a wine education, content, and events business, with the mission to help people feel more confident with wine. This goal comes out of my personal experience learning about wine. My journey started out simple: drinking $3 bottles of Chardonnay from the grocery store. I felt so elegant drinking wine, but also extremely self-conscious because I couldn’t figure out what the heck I liked about it. So I set out to learn, tasting everything I could get my hands on and passing the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 3 exam. Throughout this process I not only found my passion for wine, I saw how daunting the world of wine can be, and I made it my mission to help people get more confident with wine and figure out what the heck they like.

Growing Together With Wine to where it is today definitely has taken time. I want to be transparent about that because in today’s world of 30 under 30 lists and curated media, it’s easy to assume that most people find success instantly. I began sharing my passion for wine by starting a wine education club at my work and hosting tastings for my coworkers and friends for free. Eventually I picked up a few paid virtual tastings for larger groups during the pandemic and created a website and Instagram account to promote my tastings and share educational wine content. Today I have expanded my content to YouTube and digital products and have also expanded to doing in-person wine tastings. It’s been a slow build over two years, and I’ve had to be creative along the way to support myself. In addition to Together With Wine, I do freelance content creation and marketing for wineries and retailers, and I’ve found this work really rewarding and fun. I’ve learned that your dreams may take longer to get to than you want, but every step along the way is so important to achieving them or even realizing new versions of them.

I am so proud of Together With Wine because it is exactly the kind of fun and friendly, educational wine content and community that I craved when I first started getting into wine. It creates places where anyone with any level of wine knowledge can come to learn and connect. My main focus is teaching people how to taste because it’s the foundation to understanding wine and figuring out what you like. I truly love hosting tastings and sharing about wine with others, and I can’t wait to see how Together With Wine grows over the years to come!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
In my opinion, a trip to San Diego is best spent with lots of time in the sun and delicious food and wine! I would start by planning to visit multiple beaches along San Diego’s coast to get the full picture of beach culture. Maybe take some surf lessons or try kayaking. Activities like hiking in Torrey Pines and picnicking at Kate Sessions Park, especially with that spectacular view of the city, are some of my favorite ways to be outside. As for food and drinks, I’m always checking out new places. My current recommendations are: Cantina Mayahuel (get the mahi taco with a pour of the Don Lorenzo Tepeztate Mezcal), The Fishery (Macadamia Crusted Alaska Halibut with a glass of Grüner Veltliner), Madison on Park Blvd (Avocado Citrus Salad with the Jumping Cholla cocktail) and Wolf in the Woods wine bar (all of the tapas and ask the staff what’s new on the wine list). Finally, a weekend in Temecula wine country would really top off the trip! You’ll have more flexibility driving to the wineries yourself, but if you want to indulge, I recommend signing up for a tour with transportation.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to shoutout a few people and organizations starting with Dream Big Darling, a nonprofit organization supporting the next generation of leaders in the wine industry. They have supported me and many other women with invaluable networking and career coaching and I couldn’t be more thankful for their big hearts! I’d also love to shoutout my friends and family, who cheered me on when I made the leap to work in the wine industry and start Together With Wine. And finally, my clients and online wine community for their positivity and support!

Website: https://www.togetherwithwine.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/togetherwithwine/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/togetherwithwine

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX_wXfvE3RFcS2uJI0A8dCg/videos

Image Credits
Sarah O’Malley