Mari Robinson: From Dom Perignon to Philanthropy

Mari’s first sip of Dom Perignon ignited a passion for wines that has taken her to incredible places around the globe. Despite her busy job as a director at the University of Texas in the health sector and her other leadership positions, she stays devoted to volunteering at the Wine and Food Foundation to provide support and assistance to people in the hospitality industry.

Let’s join Mari Robinson as she passionately speaks about her cellar, her wine collection, and her volunteer work with the Food and Wine Foundation and their charitable activities for the hospitality industry. We also get a look at the Texas wine industry. Plus, Mari takes us along on her adventures to amazing wine-tasting spots in the world.

What you will learn from this episode:

• Learn about the Wine and Food Foundation – their mission and how they help people working in the hospitality industry.
• Learn about the clear-the-cellar event and make your own, plus learn one way to track your wine inventory.
• Discover countries and places to explore, savor, and delight in outstanding wines.
• Hear about the Texas wine industry and the various grape varietals that comprise their exceptional wine selection.

Mari Robinson, JD, is the Director of Telehealth with the University of Texas Medical Branch and in that role, she is assisting with the roll out of the Virtual Health Network, a project to link all UT systems medical campuses to allow for the shared provision of telemedicine throughout the state.  She is also the Director of the Medical Technology Resource & Education Center (MTREC), which provides training and support in the area of medical technology. Prior to joining UTMB, she was Executive Director for the Texas Medical Board, and oversaw the agency responsible for regulating the practice of medicine in the state. 

In addition to the above, she presently serves as the Chair of the HHSC eHealth Advisory Committee, as well as a board member of the Advisory Board of the Texas Broadband Development Office.  She was also recently named the Convener of the workgroup to establish ISO standards for telehealth.  In her personal time, Mari is very active in the Austin community serving as the President of The League of Women Voters Austin Area, President-elect of Wine & Food Foundation, and as a board member for Pop-Up Birthday.

Connect with Mari Robinson:

• Website: https://winefoodfoundation.org/
• Email: mari501c3@outlook.com

Topics Covered:

01:45 – Recalling that interesting story of how Mari met Laurel

03:14 – Dom Perignon: the bottle that started it all in Mary’s wine journey

04:27 – How many bottles can her cellar accommodate?

05:13 – Using a website to track her wine collection:https://www.cellartracker.com/ [plus the clear-the-cellar party she does every year]

08:13 – Volunteering and philanthropy [what goes behind all these charitable activities in the Food and Wine Foundation]

10:26 – Touching on minimum wage issues, security, and safe working conditions for people in the hospitality industry

13:02 – Discussing solutions provided by people directly from the hospitality industry itself

15:54 – The model philosophy for the hospitality industry that should be in place

16:33 – Action steps in place to help the hospitality industry
17:33 – What the Texan wine industry has to offer and the different grape varietals that they grow

22:08 – Amazing countries and places she visited for the love of wine

23:44 – Interesting thing that happens that are unique to a particular place she visited and some of the challenges they face

27:56 – Exciting wine events to look forward to in Texas

Quotes from Mari Robinson:

“I remember on my 21st birthday, the person that I was dating at the time bought me a bottle of Dom Perignon.”

“I have a very eclectic sort of taste.”

“Once a year, every year we have to reconcile the cellar.”

“We pull all the things at the end of their drinking window (20, 30 bottles) and we invite all our friends over and say, bring a dish. It’s the Clear the Cellar party.”

“Very few people have the bandwidth to go and buy six different bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape so you can understand what the distinction is.”

“People who have been in wine a long time love to talk to people about wine.”

“The idea is to try to give back to the folks in the wine and food community and support non-profit philanthropic efforts in those two areas.”

“We want the people who are doing those things and bringing all that lovely experience to us to also be happy and healthy and whole.”

“We raised well over $50,000 to help go into the fund to help support those folks who were in that hospitality community during the time that COVID was such a struggle.”

“We have Texas wineries everywhere. There are hundreds of wineries.”

“The grapes that we’re seeing get a lot of production are Tempranillo. “

“I’ve actually had a Hawaiian wine. I went to the winery on Hawaii and I sat there and had a discussion with them about how you do this.”

“In Portugal, they’re one of the only places that I know of in the Douro anyway, that have what are called field blends. They don’t know what their grapes are.”

“We’ve got a full Texas wine event in April and we have our huge auction in November. So we’d love to have folks visit.”