Ryan Tingle
Founder and Sommelier
For as long as I can remember, experiencing a culture has meant everything to me. I spent a good part of the last 10 years of my life living in multiple countries, working in different industries, exploring and learning about cultures and languages. From 2015-2020, I taught English as a foreign language. I worked aboard a cruise ship, then lived and taught in both Mexico and Poland. In any downtime I had, I would travel. Especially to Italy.
I took my camera along, created a travel blog and worked with small, local businesses in different destinations to help promote and share their stories. My goal was to create educational tours, so that students could experience a culture and learn first hand about our diverse world. 2020 came along, and my concept ended as quickly as it started. While it was a big setback, it was an even bigger step forward.
I quickly realized that what I missed most was spending time around a table, with good food and wine, learning about the stories of others. My passion for cooking and wine were becoming more serious, and I knew that I needed to do something about it. In 2022, I returned to Florence, Italy; this time to live, work, and study. I spent 2 years, studying wine, food, and culture to an extreme.
Any time I had off, I would use to explore and research Tuscany, as well as other wine regions to better understand the terroir, people, wines, food, and culture. I created incredible connections and friendships with so many lovely people as it is too easy to do so when there is a nice bottle of wine around. Combined with intensive studies, tasting everything in sight, and exploring different regions, it was the time spent with very skilled and knowledgeable producers that best helped me advance and pass my WSET3 exam at distinction, making me a highly certified sommelier.
I knew at this time we were ready to move forward with Grapestained. I am very proud of the incredible relationships I have made over the last few years, and I am beyond excited to share that with the world. Teaching has always been a big part of who I am, and to have the ability to share various cultures by experiencing food, wine, landscape, and local stories leaves me speechless. Tuscany is only the beginning of amazing things to come.
Phil Navatsyk
Co-Founder & Director of Marketing
For the past decade, any free time I had was spent traveling with my wife. We have had the privilege of embarking on some of the most incredible adventures around the globe: hiking through New Zealand, trekking with wild mountain gorillas in Uganda, watching the awe-inspiring Northern Lights in Norway, and of course, eating and drinking our way through Italy. While the sights, landscapes, and photo opportunities might be why we initially planned these trips, the most fulfilling part of each experience has been building relationships with local people and businesses. We often partnered with these businesses to help them improve their online presence with high quality photo & video content.
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Back home in the USA, most of my career has been centered around photography and small business marketing.​ So when Ryan approached me about launching Grapestained, I couldn't have been more excited. This was a chance to combine some of my biggest passions: travel, small business support, and photography. Our goal with Grapestained is to provide our clients with a unique experience that gets them in touch with the most authentic side of each destination, and there's no better place to start than with Tuscany. We are curating some of the most incredible experiences in Italy, and I can't wait to help people embark on their own life-changing adventures!