Kim McCullough is a wine and viticulture entrepreneur with a deep knowledge of winemaking, terroir, sustainability, and entrepreneurial experience. Kim owns Cellar Beast Winehouse and combines extensive experience in enology with the accuracy and originality she’s developed through her wine education as a Level Two Sommelier at the Wine School of Philadelphia. This intensive training has honed her ability to judge wine for quality, harmony, and flavor — and means she’s attuned to the senses when putting together each bottle, grasping the nuanced ways soil, climate, and harvest time interact to create something special.
Kim’s professional sommelier training focused extensively on the world’s wine regions and grapes, and she expertly plays with aroma, texture, and taste at every stroke. Her extensive tasting and sensory training helped her develop a talent for distinguishing between flavor profiles, minerality, and elements vital to selecting and designing wine lists. As a wine professional, she’s also trained in food pairing principles and can make wine-pairing suggestions that help improve the tasting experience at dining restaurants.
Before building her knowledge of wine, Kim taught elementary school in Louisiana and New York, and she taught with passion and wit. Education consulting gave her a skill set she leverages at Cellar Beast, creating an atmosphere where learning, experience, and art unite to create a wine culture unlike any other. Kim manages a team of wine experts, oversees HR and commercial sales, works with growers in major wine regions for sourcing grapes, and adds positivity and honesty to every stage of the winemaking process.
Kim is an active member of the wine industry, growing her wine knowledge through additional wine programs and sharing her passion with others. She lives in Allentown, PA, with her husband, Aaron, and their three daughters. Her favorite Cellar Beast wines are Blanc de Noir and Primitivo, which show her interest in terroir-inspired, handcrafted wines that reflect the characteristics of the vineyard.