Interview with Maryam Ahmed
If you’ve spent any time in wine, you know this industry can be a maze. But if there’s one person who knows how to navigate it with style and purpose, it’s Maryam Ahmed. She’s built a career that blends wine, education, and community in a way that feels intentional and genuinely exciting.
I met Maryam a few years ago when I was looking for advice on growing my own wine career, and she was immediately generous with her time and insight. She’s always willing to lend a hand, and her wine travel project, Field Blends, is something truly special. By creating immersive experiences—think vineyard walks, farm talks, and chef-led dinners—she’s fostered a space for deep, meaningful conversations. And with a BIPOC community partner in each destination, she ensures that travelers feel welcomed and represented, which is reflected in the diverse groups who have joined since day one.
I caught up with Maryam to chat about her career, her approach to breaking barriers, and what she wishes more people knew about getting into the wine world.
“My “aha” wine moment was more about what wine did than what it tasted like.”
Q: What is your full name and where are you from?
A: My full name is Maryam Ahmed and I am from upstate New York. I live in Napa, California. I've been in Napa almost 10 years.
Q: What title would you like me to use and where do you work?
A: I I am the owner of Maryam + Company, and I'm also a partner at a company called Playte Kitchen in Napa.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in wine?
A: My career in wine kind of happened to me. I had really great close family friends that were lovers of the Finger Lakes region. I actually grew up about an hour from the Finger Lakes. My parents did not drink. My dad's Muslim. My mom would have, a magnum of white wine in the fridge for three months kind of situation. So I didn't have a lot of exposure to wine.
Then when I was in high school, this really amazing, big, loud Italian family kind of showed me wine. But for me, it was more like, "Wow, this is why they gather." I think the love of wine really actually came from the togetherness that it created, more so maybe than the product itself. My "aha" wine moment was more about what wine did than what it tasted like.
Q: Is there a particular wine or winemaking region that has left a lasting impact on you?
A: I work in a lot of different wine regions, so that's a really hard question to answer. Obviously, I grew up about an hour from the Finger Lakes, a region that is so naturally beautiful. I know the people, I know the community.
But I also did my associate's degree at Walla Walla Community College for my enology and viticulture degree. I spend a lot of time up in Walla Walla pretty much whenever I can. For me, that community is really cool because there's no shying away from the growth opportunities or entrepreneur mindset there, which is a really cool thing when you're getting started in your wine career.
Q: What made you move from Walla Walla to Napa? Was there something in between?
A: I finished my winemaking degree in 2015. I went for my winemaking degree because I really wanted to be educating, especially around sales and hospitality. I knew that if I didn't speak the language of the winemaker, in smaller regions, it would be really hard to educate. You have to know your audience.
When I graduated, I had worked several harvests, made wines, and absolutely loved it, but knew I was still in pursuit of this opportunity to educate. The timing was really kismet. The Culinary Institute of America had just acquired a new building in Napa called Copia. The purpose of that building was to create educational programs for the public and for the industry on behalf of the CIA. They happened to have a position open to step into that role.
So I was on the opening team for that building and managed those programs in California and helped with some national initiatives too. I moved to Napa rather unexpectedly. I didn't even have California on my radar as far as places I expected to live. It just always kind of felt a little out of reach, honestly. And I never left. I'm still here 10 years later.
Q: What has been your most affirming wine moment?
A: There's a couple that come to mind. I will say it's pretty affirming when Wine Enthusiast puts you on the cover of their magazine. That's pretty affirming, especially because I was running my business at that time. I got the cover when I ran my own company, not when I worked for someone else. I think that is very affirming.
Another really good example of affirmation was when Dan Petroski asked me to be a collaborative winemaker for Massican in 2022. I worked for two vintages with him on creating my own version of a Massican wine, which was a really special opportunity. It affirmed not just that Dan thinks I'm a cool person, but also that my love of white winemaking hasn't gone away. And also that when you tell people what you want, sometimes they will make it happen for you.
Q: How do you stay inspired or continue learning in the wine industry?
A: I look outside the wine industry. I spend a lot of time watching what large global brands are doing and also brands in sectors that wine should be more active in. One of the tools that I have to keep sharp is that I have to predict what people want, but I have to be able to make a really creative connection for them. I want to be able to give people education in an unexpected way.
In order to do that, I think you really have to be well-researched. You have to be up on trends and paying attention to what's going on in the world, not just what's going on in the wine world. I pay a lot of attention to the marketing and consumer marketing of big brands.
I have a lot of conversations with different people who are really driven by data, people who are running companies or businesses in the wine industry that I'm inspired by. I spend time in the B Corp community, which is of course beyond wine as well, especially looking at what companies are doing from an ethical perspective, or how they're scaling ethically. I take a lot of my inspiration from sectors that probably intersect with wine in some way, but that maybe aren't always in wine. I try to infuse that into the work that I do in the wine industry.
Q: What do you see as the future of wine?
A: I'm already really excited about how different the wine industry is now than when I started in wine, which was 15 years ago. I think that we are already experiencing the changes we can expect in the wine industry.
What I'm really looking forward to is watching a lot of these folks who entered the industry in the last five years step into leadership positions and start influencing the wine industry from the top, because that is going to change the game—how we educate people about wine, how we market wine, how we sell wine, how we build our communities and support our communities.
I see so much of that on the horizon. I think a lot of people who were well into their career stepped into these roles that opened doors for a lot of people. I'm excited to see what happens from there. Specifically, I'm excited to see leadership evolve, and I'm excited for leadership collaborations. We can all learn a lot from each other, and I'm excited for what that wine future looks like.
Q: Can you give us a recommendation? It can be anything that's on your mind right now.
A: My recommendation is for people to take care of themselves. That can be something really small. Sometimes we let taking care of ourselves become this really big thing, and then we just don't do it. But going and letting the sun hit your face if the sun is out, or putting lotion on your hands, or drinking a whole cup of water—just these little increments.
Because a lot of stuff feels really big right now and really daunting, and taking care of ourselves is just so important in this moment. I just got back from vacation in Australia, so maybe that's why it's on my mind—make sure you take care of yourself, make sure you give yourself a little something.
Maryam’s work is a reminder that wine is at its best when it’s about more than just what’s in the glass—it’s about the people, the places, and the stories that bring it to life. Her approach to wine travel, education, and community-building is exactly the kind of energy we need more of in this industry. As wine continues to evolve, voices like hers are leading the way, proving that there’s room for everyone at the table.
