Alpana Singh
Encyclopedia
Alpana Singh is a sommelier
and local television personality in Chicago, Illinois
.
' advanced certification test at age 21. In 2003, she passed the final exam to become the youngest woman ever to achieve the rank of Master Sommelier. (The master sommelier exam has an approximate 3% pass rate.)
Beginning at age 23, she served as sommelier at Chicago's Everest. She is currently Director of Wine and Spirits for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
, a large Chicago-based chain of restaurants.
Singh has become especially well known for hosting the local Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS) public television station WTTW
's restaurant review show, Check, Please!
and her regular appearances on Chicago Tonight
for the "Ask Alpana" segment on Thursday evenings. She replaced the original host of Check, Please!, Amanda Puck, in October 2003.
Singh is also the author of the 2006 book Alpana Pours: About Being a Woman, Loving Wine, and Having Great Relationships (ISBN 0-89733-546-5) and writes a column on wine for RedEye
.
, born and raised in Monterey
, California
. Her parents are Fiji Indians who migrated from Fiji
to California.
In 2006, Singh married fiction writer Charles Blackstone
.
Sommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
and local television personality in Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Career
Singh passed the Court of Master SommeliersCourt of Master Sommeliers
The Court of Master Sommeliers is an organisation that was established to encourage improved standards of beverage service, particularly wine, in hotels and restaurants...
' advanced certification test at age 21. In 2003, she passed the final exam to become the youngest woman ever to achieve the rank of Master Sommelier. (The master sommelier exam has an approximate 3% pass rate.)
Beginning at age 23, she served as sommelier at Chicago's Everest. She is currently Director of Wine and Spirits for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is a group of approximately 70 restaurants founded by Rich Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff in Chicago, IL in 1971.-History:The first restaurant was R.J...
, a large Chicago-based chain of restaurants.
Singh has become especially well known for hosting the local Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) public television station WTTW
WTTW
WTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
's restaurant review show, Check, Please!
Check, Please!
Check, Please! is a popular restaurant review program that airs on Chicago's PBS member station WTTW. The show first aired in 2001.The format of the show is very simple: three everyday people, from anywhere in the greater Chicago area, sit down with a host to discuss three eating establishments,...
and her regular appearances on Chicago Tonight
Chicago Tonight
Chicago Tonight is an evening television news program broadcast weeknights on WTTW in Chicago. Chicago Tonight reports primarily on local news and presents features showcasing local artists and events. The show started in 1984 and for 15 years popular Chicago broadcast journalist John Callaway...
for the "Ask Alpana" segment on Thursday evenings. She replaced the original host of Check, Please!, Amanda Puck, in October 2003.
Singh is also the author of the 2006 book Alpana Pours: About Being a Woman, Loving Wine, and Having Great Relationships (ISBN 0-89733-546-5) and writes a column on wine for RedEye
RedEye
The RedEye is a daily publication put out by the Chicago Tribune geared toward 18 to 34-year-olds. RedEye was created due in part to the loss of readership among young people of the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers...
.
Personal life
She is a first-generation Indian AmericanIndian American
Indian Americans are Americans whose ancestral roots lie in India. The U.S. Census Bureau popularized the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Indigenous peoples of the Americas who are commonly referred to as American Indians.-The term: Indian:...
, born and raised in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Her parents are Fiji Indians who migrated from Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
to California.
In 2006, Singh married fiction writer Charles Blackstone
Charles Blackstone
Charles Blackstone is an American author. He is the a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder creative writing program, where he won the Barker Award for Fiction in 2001, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.-Works:...
.
Honors and accolades
- 2006 Wine & Spirits Professional of the Year by Bon AppetitBon AppétitBon Appétit describes itself as "a food and entertaining magazine" and is published monthly. Named after the French phrase for "Enjoy your meal", it was started by M. Frank Jones in Kansas City in 1956...
magazine - Best Sommelier in America by Wine and SpiritsWine and SpiritsWine and Spirits may refer to:* Wine & Spirit, a British wine and alcohol publication aimed at consumers and the drinks industry* Wine & Spirits, an American wine magazine...
magazine - Crain's Chicago BusinessCrain Communications Inc.Crain Communications Inc is a publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan. The company publishes a variety of trade newspapers, including some city-based business newspapers, such as Crain's Cleveland Business, Crain's Chicago Business, Crain's Detroit Business, and Crain's New York Business...
40 Under 40 - Food & Wines 35 Under 35
- Best Sommelier (2004) by ChicagoChicago (magazine)Chicago is a monthly magazine published by the Tribune Company. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, larger than People in its market...
magazine - 30 Under 30 (2006) by JaneJane (magazine)Jane was an American magazine created to appeal to the women who grew up reading Sassy Magazine, both of which had Jane Pratt as founding editor. Its original target audience was aged 18–34, and was designed to appeal to women who are irreverent...
magazine