Have you always wondered what wine pairs best with a Bichon Frise or a Chihuahua? Fearless Restaurants Director of Wine and Beverage Michele Gargiulo has pondered these pooch pairings and more and has just released her first book Pairing Paws, Dog Breeds, and their Spirit Wines.

Join Gargiulo on the patio at White Dog Cafe Wayne, 200 West Lancaster Ave., Wayne, PA, on Monday, September 19, 5-7 pm, for the launch of her book – well-behaved pups are welcome for this yappy hour event! Books will be available onsite for purchase and Gargiulo’s own Yorkshire Terrier Riesling will be there to paw-tograph copies!

This cute and informative book explores how to pair the personality and soul of wine with a well-known dog breed.

“Dogs have distinctive personalities, they vary based on breed and even individuals, just as wines vary year to year, location to location,” Gargiulo explained adding, “Wine is often taken too seriously and many people are still expecting sommeliers to be older gentlemen who forgot how to smile sometimes in the 80s. To make wine what it is truly all about – fun and happiness, I decided to pair them with the creatures who are amongst the most fun and happy in the world – dogs,” she explained.

Tickets are $50 and include a glass of White Flower by Penns Woods Winery of Chadds Ford (which is featured in the book), an autographed copy of the book, and small bites. TICKETS ON SALE HERE.

Gargiulo pairs her love of wine and dogs to create a fun and informative book sure to be a thumbs and paws up from humans and pups alike. Gargiulo featured many shelter dogs in the book (as well as dogs of coworkers) and plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to local animal shelters as well as to Alpha Bravo Canine, the primary benefactor of Fearless Restaurant’s yearly Dining Out for the Dogs event that takes place at their White Dog Cafe locations in August. . Alpha Bravo Canine(tm) was founded to help the local community of veterans. which provides trained service dogs to U.S military veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and other combat-related disabilities.

Gargiulo previously served as the sommelier of  Jean Georges Restaurant at the Four Seasons Philadelphia. She is a Certified Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers, a WSET Diploma student (currently Advanced), a Certified Sake Advisor from the Sake School of America, an Executive Bourbon Steward from the Stave and Thief Society, and a Certified Specialist of Wine from the Society of Wine Educators. She graduated from The Culinary Institute of America, and before that studied Genetics at Rutgers University. She was the Teaching Assistant for the Wines Class at The Culinary Institute of America for a year under Professor Weiss and has taught wine classes at Montgomery Culinary Institute. She was the beverage director of a restaurant called Savona on the Main Line of Philadelphia for just over four years. The owner here founded the American Sommelier Association, and her predecessor was Melissa Monosoff, who is currently one of the few female Master Sommeliers, as well as in charge of the Education Department for the Court of Master Sommeliers. She worked as a manager at Steven Starr’s Barclay Prime and was the General Manager at a restaurant in South Carolina during the COVID-19 quarantine. She was named amongst Philly Mag’s New Faces of Wine in 2017 and was written about in a few other magazines, as well as many press appearances on news stations. She is among the youngest Sommeliers in the area, as well as one of the very few females in the industry. She has made her career about making wine more approachable and fun for those who are too intimidated to learn more. She often pairs wine with things that others would not think to, like art, music, feelings, and now, dogs!