Vanessa Cominsky is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native working in food and beverage since 2010. She moved to Washington, DC in 2017, taking the Sommelier position at DBGB Kitchen and Bar, working with a primarily French and American wine list. From there, she moved on to St. Anselm in 2018, where she managed the beverage program, focusing on vintage Madeira and wines from all over the world. She was able to stay busy during the pandemic, making 12,000 individual meals a day with World Central Kitchen at Nationals Park, while the restaurant industry in DC was shuttered. As the pandemic wound down, Vanessa took the position of Beverage Director and Sommelier at Albi, a Levantine inspired fine dining establishment highlighting wines and flavors from the region.In 2021, she moved on to distribution and is now working with Prestige-Ledroit as a Beverage Specialist, managing over 100 accounts and a very wide portfolio of wine, spirits, and beer.

In her free time, Vanessa loves to read, cook at home, and enjoy the diverse food and beverage scene in DC. She is on the board for SommCon, a yearly convention for wine professionals, focusing on education, professional development, networking, and mentorship. She the President and co-founder of Vin. Vitalité. A Community of Women in Wine which was founded to foster networking, build community, and create scholarship opportunities for women in the DC wine industry. She is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, a philanthropic organization of women leaders in the food, beverage and hospitality industries. In addition, Vanessa is also the chair for the DC Bar Guild's Repeal Day Ball, an annual event that showcases some of DC's best bartenders' creativity along with over 50 spirit brands.

You can follow her on instagram @vminsky