About

Sudsy’s Cellar is a wine education and analysis platform founded by Claire L. Torbeck, DipWSET. The site delivers clear, technically grounded insight into wine—connecting vineyard factors, cellar decisions, climate pressures, and market forces to what ends up in the glass.

Claire’s work is built on formal study and direct industry experience. She serves as Wine Director for the International Wine & Food Society – Lake Tahoe, where she curates wine programs, designs educational tastings and seminars, and manages cellar acquisitions and programming across multiple wine organizations. She also judges wine competitions throughout California and regularly attends professional tastings and producer events.

Sudsy’s Cellar was created to fill a gap in wine communication: structured, cause-and-effect content that respects the reader’s time. Rather than focusing on scores or promotional tasting notes, the site examines what drives style, quality, and typicity—especially when modern pressures such as climate and market forces shape decisions in both vineyard and winery.

What You’ll Find Here

  • Viticulture and winemaking practices (cause-and-effect, not trends)
  • Regional and stylistic analysis of classic and emerging regions
  • Comparative tastings and framework-based evaluation
  • Industry perspective drawn from winery visits and professional tastings
  • Practical guidance for assessing, selecting, and pairing wine

Articles are published thoughtfully and infrequently, prioritizing clarity, accuracy, and usefulness over volume.

Credentials & Professional Roles

Credentials

  • WSET Diploma (DipWSET)
  • Certified Sommelier (Court of Master Sommeliers)
  • French Wine Scholar (FWS)
  • Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW)
  • Certified Rhône Specialist (CRS)

Professional Roles

  • Wine Director – International Wine & Food Society (IWFS), Lake Tahoe
  • Wine competition judge (California)
  • Writer and contributor to wine-focused print and digital publications

Published In

Claire’s work has appeared in The Arbor, Wine, Food & Friends, Winemaker Magazine, and LocalWineEvents.com, with additional features published across other wine-focused digital outlets.

Philosophy

Wine is best understood when technical knowledge, historical context, and disciplined tasting are integrated. The goal of Sudsy’s Cellar is not to simplify wine, but to make complexity useful.

For professional inquiries, educational collaborations, speaking engagements, or media requests, please use the contact information provided on this site.

The Support Team

Dan Torbeck, CSW supports Sudsy’s Cellar through active participation in industry tastings, winery visits, and research for wine education content. A Certified Specialist of Wine, Dan contributes to tasting analysis, note-taking, and producer engagement, helping inform the educational and editorial work featured on the site.