My mission is to help people discover the wide world of wine beyond the big “international” grape varieties that dominate the global wine market and to help people learn to pair wine with food. I do this through regularly scheduled wine tastings as well as by selling some of the wines that prove popular at my tastings.

Brandon Mitchener

Born and raised in the United States, I have lived in Europe for the past 33 years. I studied in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, then later worked  as a journalist for Dow Jones Newswires, The International Herald Tribune and The Wall Street Journal in New York City, Frankfurt am Main and Brussels for 15 years before making the switch to public relations, European public affairs and wine.

I first started discovering wine while learning German near Freiburg im Breisgau, and have been lucky to later live near good wine country in Austria, Germany, Italy, France and Belgium. More recently I started discovering the wonders of Portuguese, Greek and Belgian wines, some of which I now include among my all-time favorites.

In 2014 I took a sommelier class to learn more about wine. After 18 gruelling months of tasting wine, beers and spirits and learning how to pair them with food I earned my sommelier diploma. I have been organising my own wine tastings in Brussels and online and selling wine since 2018 as a labor of love.

My wine business is a side activity. My “day job” is European public relations, public affairs and association management consulting. You can learn more about me on my LinkedIn page. You can learn more about the consulting services I offer on www.terremielicieli.eu.


Brandon tasting wine at Hadzidakis Winery on Santorini.

Brandon at a wine tasting at the Hadzidakis winery in Santorini.

The name Terre Mieli Cieli (pronounced TER-reh MYEL-ly, CHEL-ly) comes from the Italian words for Earth, Honey and Sky. The earth--think terroir--and sky--think weather--represent two of the most important elements for a great wine. Honey represents the proverbial fruit of the land and what winemakers make of it.

Terre

Terre (lands) represents the terroir, the environment that a winemaker has to work with. That can mean soil that is more rocky, chalky or sandy or a latitude that lends itself to one kind of grape or another.

Mieli

Mieli (honeys) stands for the fruit of the land and of our labour, whether it be wine, beer or spirits. Luck helps, but consistently producing results worth talking about takes careful planning and more than a little bit of skill. Ultimately, taste and beauty are subjective. The trick is knowing your customers and producing results that click.

The view from the Quinta do Crasto winery in Portugal's Douro Valley.

Cieli

Cieli represents the inevitable element of luck that keeps us humble. The Italians call it la fortuna, which can mean both good fortune and bad. The best vineyard and practices can be brought low by something as random as frost or a hailstorm.