Project Description

Steve Millier, the winemaker for Tom of Finland Wines, joined John Sporing, founder of A Life Well Drunk for a virtual tasting on June 24th, 2020.

Did you miss the live virtual tasting? No worries, watch it here:

For our Pride Week “Conversations with a Wine Maker” we talked with winemakers as they told us their stories of their journeys, their wineries, and being part of the LGBT Community. In the June 24th, 2020 tasting, we sipped and discussed two wines:

2018 Freestanding white

2018 OUTstanding red

You can still order the wines from the winery this link. We look forward to seeing everyone again soon in person, until then we hope to see you at the tastings!

Meet the Maker

Steve Millier is the winemaker for Tom of Finland Wines that we will be tasting with. Steve has been involved in the wine industry for over 30 years. In 1975, he graduated from California State University, Fresno with a Bachelor of Science degree in Enology. He started his career as Winemaker at David Bruce Winery, which is in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Tom of Finland Wines is made by Kautz Family Vineyards in partnership with the Tom of Finland Foundation. In 1984, the non-profit Tom of Finland Foundation was established by Durk Dehner and his friend Touko Laaksonen a.k.a. Tom of Finland. As Tom had established worldwide recognition as the master of homoerotic art, the Foundation’s original purpose was to preserve his vast catalog of work. Several years later the scope was widened to offer a safe haven for all erotic art in response to rampant discrimination against art that portrayed sexual behavior or generated a sexual response.

Today the Foundation continues in its efforts of educating the public as to the cultural merits of erotic art and in promoting healthier, more tolerant attitudes about sexuality. The Tom of Finland Foundation is a 501(c)(3) Educational Archive.

For more information, visit tomoffinlandfounadtion.org