W. R. Tish (the professional name of William R. Tisherman), known to many simply as Tish, has been writing and speaking about wine and food for two decades.
After a psychology degree from Harvard (1982), a stint in ice cream (managed first Steve’s franchise outside of Boston, in College Park, Maryland, 1983-’84), an MFA in creative writing (American University, 1987) and a brief poetry career, Tish found himself proofreading at the magazine Friends of Wine.
He moved to New York in 1988 for the launch of Wine Enthusiast and went on to become executive editor, positioning it as a spunkier, funnier alternative to other wine magazines. Since 1998, Tish has written for In Style, Details, Private Clubs, Beverage Media, Better Homes & Gardens, Wine & Spirits and Westchester.
Through his New York-based firm Wine For All (“Pairing Wine and Fun Since the 20th Century”), founded in 1998, Tish has developed and led wine and food events for a variety of Fortune 500 corporations and law firms—not to mention private parties that would make Bacchus envious. At Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, Tish both teaches curriculum classes and leads hands-on-cooking parties. He has also taught at the Sarah Lawrence College; served as an auctioneer for charity wine auctions; and in 2006 became a certified instructor of Bordeaux wines.
Frequently called on to speak for the wine trade, Tish has led seminars on French regions Bordeaux, Loire Valley, Vacqueyras, Languedoc, Provence and Calvados; and Spanish regions Rioja and Jerez. (Yes, he does bachelorette parties and bar mitzvahs, too.)
Tish’s approach to wine veers naturally toward comedy. Wine For All has created lighthearted public events such as Desperate House Wines; Been There, Ate That; and The 13 Funniest Wines in America. Tish has also done standup in Manhattan as a “recovering wine critic,” and his annual April Fools parodies are eagerly awaited by industry peers. His unique and entertaining approach to gastronomy is captured in the motto “I drink, therefore I am; I eat, therefore I am more.”
Recent editorial projects include his own irreverent blog, The Wine Skewer; and the online wine magazine Palate Press (editor-in-chief).
He lives in Katonah, NY, with his wife, twin sons and an eclectic collection of wines.
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