Robbin Gheesling picked up her first camera at the age of ten. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, Robbin received degrees in audio production from New York University and Middle Tennessee State. Always with her camera at the ready, she incorporated visual elements into her auditory work. After a long career in music engineering, Robbin founded Vineyard Adventures, an experiential travel company. This shifted her photography and audio content to focus on supporting small-production food and wine producers. Robbin is a two-time recipient of the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s La Toque Scholarship in Wine Studies. Other accolades include the Christine Ansbacher Wine Educator Award from Les Dames d’Escoffier and a grant from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. In 2013 she won the Premio Famiglia Fede Fellowship for Entrepreneurs, thanks to which she earned an MA in Italian from Middlebury College in Florence. While living in Florence, she discovered the city’s unique wine doors and began documenting and researching them. Gaining recognition for her work with the wine doors of Florence, Robbin won the Charles Altschul Fellowship in Book Arts at Maine Media Workshops where she created a fine art, handmade edition of her photographic work. With the support of a mentorship with Magnum Photos and Matt Black, Robbin is currently working on a documentary photo project of Casa del Vino, a historic wine bar in the center of Florence. This will culminate in publishing an artist photo book including handmade editions.Read more about this authorRead less about this author