There are a lot of wines out there. Some are great and some are not so great. Without a fair amount of dedicated research or a lot of trial and error, it can be difficult to consistently find good wines at a fair price. That is, unless, you happen to have a trusty guide, with a nose for value-oriented wines, to point you in the right direction. The good news is that Robert Kacher — or Bobby, as he is known inside the trade — has just such a nose.

Fortunately for the wine world, Bobby eschewed a traditional education and instead learned about wines while backpacking through the wine-producing regions of France. His education included more than just tasting wine. He learned about the entire ancillary world of wine, including the vineyards, winemaking styles, the people who craft the wines and the food of each region. Bobby was hooked, and the lifestyle that revolved around the world of wine became his passion.