Meet our instructors.

A woman in a blazer and magenta top holding a glass of red wine in a restaurant with warm lighting and brick walls.

Christina Hartigan DipWSET (she/her)

WSET Level 2 Instructor - Vancouver

Christina Hartigan is the Wine Director with the Stable House Group in Vancouver, Canada. Working in the vineyard during harvest in Burgundy, Christina fell in love with all aspects of wine from vine to glass.  This experience led to her to begin her studies in wine and pursue a career in hospitality and wine.  A CMS Advanced Sommelier, Christina has also completed the WSET Diploma and French Wine Scholar. She is a facilitator for the BC Wine Ambassador program and was named Vancouver Magazine’s Sommelier of the Year 2022.  

A woman with short wavy hair, glasses, and red lipstick holding a glass of white wine, smiling at the camera. She is wearing a black dress with puffed sleeves, and earrings. The background is plain and light-colored.

Jenna Briscoe DipWSET (she/her)

WSET Level 1, 2 & 3 Instructor - Vancouver

Jenna has a diverse background in the wine industry, spanning hospitality and business consulting. She earned her WSET Diploma in 2018 and now teaches the programme in Vancouver. She also completed the WSET Educator Training Programme in 2019. Jenna is the Project Director for Top Drop Canada, a terroir-focused wine festival, and serves as an international wine judge. A student in the Master of Wine programme, she became a VinItaly Italian Wine Ambassador in 2018.

Her sommelier experience includes work at Vancouver’s Hawksworth and Elisa, as well as London’s Medlar and Lorne. For over 10 years she was the General Manager of Café Medina in Vancouver. In 2016, Vancouver Magazine named her a top front-of-house 'All-Star’ for her work there.

A woman in a floral black dress holding a glass of red wine, smiling, with a plain light-colored wall in the background.

Kelcie Jones DipWSET (she/her)

WSET Level 1, 2 & 3 Instructor - Vancouver

As a perennial student of wine, Kelcie holds the WSET Diploma, 3IC Italian wine certificate, and is a Stage 2 student with the Institute of Masters of Wine. She teaches WSET courses to novices and industry professionals alike and leads BC Wine Ambassador courses locally. For the past half decade, Kelcie was Wine Director for Chambar Restaurant in Vancouver, where she managed a team of sommeliers and led them to several Platinum Awards at the Vancouver International Wine Festival.

Following that, she opened Elephant on Powell as GM and wine director, which was featured in the Michelin guide and Air Canada’s En Route in its first year. Outside of wine, Kelcie holds a Master's in English Literature from the University of Toronto.

A woman smiling and holding a glass of pink wine in a restaurant. She is sitting at a table with a menu and wearing a patterned dress and a denim jacket. The restaurant has framed posters on the wall, with one titled 'NobleKot'. Outside the window, trees and storefronts are visible.

Lisa Giovanella DipWSET (she/her)

WSET Level 3 Instructor - Vancouver

Lisa has been working in the wine industry since 2008.  She has worked in vineyards and wineries in the Okanagan, New Zealand and France and enjoys travelling to new regions. In 2015 she earned her WSET Level 4 Diploma in Wines & Spirits, became a Certified WSET Educator in 2019 and has been teaching the curriculum in Wines and Spirits since then.  For the past 11 years she has been working in wine retail for Everything Wine in numerous roles including Tasting Bar and Events Coordinator, Operations Supervisor, Assistant Buyer, BC Category Manager and most recently, Manager of Education.  As an active member in her local wine community, she is a seminar Sommelier at Vancouver International Wine Festival and seminar moderator at Top Drop.  She is pursuing the Master of Wine designation, which has taken her to wine regions in South Australia, California and Germany.  She firmly believes that life is better with butter and Champagne.

Smiling woman in striped shirt and hat planting rice in a paddy field with other women in the background, lush green trees and blue sky.

Mariko Tajiri DipWSET (she/her)

WSET Sake Level 1 & 2 - Toronto & Vancouver

Mariko is a food and beverage professional (alongside, a professional eater and drinker), always thinking about what to drink and eat next. Can often be found slurping sake, wine, coffee and water while dreaming up imaginary potato chip flavour combinations. 

She has worked in the industry for nearly 20 years, working intimately with sommeliers, buyers and f&b professionals across Canada and beyond. 

Creator of Hakko Gakko, school of fermentation, a bottle shop (coming soon!) and a WSET sake educator.

A woman with curly brown hair smiling while sitting on a booth. She is wearing a black top and a black cardigan, with colorful earrings. There is a cream-colored wall and a framed picture of a bird on the wall behind her.

Maude Renaud-B. DipWSET (she/her)

WSET Level 1 & 2 Instructor - Vancouver

Originally from Québec, Maude has spent the past decade in Vancouver, building a distinguished career in the wine industry. She started as a server and GM before becoming a sommelier at renowned restaurants like Nightingale and Chambar, later joining Lifford Wine & Spirits. In 2019, she founded APÉROmode, known for its events and wine club. A former board member of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, Maude also represents BC Wine Growers as an ambassador.

Her credentials include the International Sommeliers Guild, Vinitaly Maestro certification, and the globally renowned WSET Diploma. Beyond APÉRO pop-ups, she moderates and presents at events like the Cornucopia Whistler Wine Festival and Vancouver International Wine Festival. She recently placed top three in Canada at the South Africa Sommelier Cup and now serves as a Wines of South Africa ambassador.

Locally, Maude’s deep knowledge of the dining scene has earned her a role as a judge for the VIWF Wine Program Excellence Awards and Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards.

A man in a suit sitting on a bar stool by a window with snow outside, holding a glass of white wine, with bottles of wine on the table.

Michael Littleford DipWSET (he/him)

WSET Level 1 Instructor - Vancouver

Born and raised in East Vancouver, Michael has been working as a Sommelier in Vancouver for the past 8 years. Beginning as a sommelier at Nightingale, moving on to run the wine programs for CinCin, then Published on Main, he brings a wealth of practical knowledge to the classroom. On the classroom side of things, Michael holds his WSET Level 4 Diploma, and is both an Italian and French wine scholar through the Wine Scholar Guild. Beyond the world of wine, he has a special interest in leisure sports such as table tennis and bocce ball, as well as spending time in the kitchen or tending the grill whenever possible. Michael is currently an instructor for WSET level 1 and Alternative classes.