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David Glancy
Master Sommelier
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
The Climb
In hospitality, progression is built on repeated exposure to service, operations, and standards. David Glancy’s early years moved through that sequence methodically: Management Trainee at Westin Hotels & Resorts (1987–1988), then Various Management Positions at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (1988–1994). Those years established the operational discipline and room-level command that later carried into wine education. The next set of roles widened the same toolkit across different service settings: manager at Spectrum Foods (1995–1997), Assistant General Manager at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants (1997–1998), and General Manager at Left Bank Restaurant (1998–1999). Read together, those posts show a career formed in management first, then redirected toward teaching—service, oversight, and guest experience becoming the base for more specialized work in wine. That shift is clear in the way credentials begin to sit alongside operations. Today, Glancy’s work is centered in wine education, but the structure behind it was assembled over more than a decade in hospitality leadership. The progression from property management to instruction is the throughline. Today, he is CWE and CSS of Society of Wine Educators (since 2003), MS of Court of Master Sommeliers World-Wide (since 2004), founder and Chief Education Officer of San Francisco Wine School (since 2010), and French Wine Scholar (FWS) of French Wine Society (since 2010). The sequence matters: each credential adds another layer of formal study, until education becomes the core of the practice.
Today
He has held CWE and CSS with the Society of Wine Educators since 2003, a pairing that reflects both breadth and persistence in wine study. Since 2004, he has also held MS of Court of Master Sommeliers World-Wide, extending that same standard of professional rigor into another recognized framework of wine service and examination. The school founded in 2010 remains the central platform for that work. As founder and Chief Education Officer of San Francisco Wine School, Glancy connects teaching to the management background that preceded it, while also becoming French Wine Scholar (FWS) of French Wine Society in 2010. The result is a profile built across hospitality, certification, and instruction rather than a single specialty.
Recognition
Recognition here is credential-based. CWE and CSS with the Society of Wine Educators, MS with Court of Master Sommeliers World-Wide, and FWS with French Wine Society mark sustained study, not ornament. Alongside the founding role at San Francisco Wine School, they frame a career that moved from hotel operations into wine education through accumulated responsibility and formal testing.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of David
What is David Glancy's current role?
As of 2026, David Glancy is Founder and Chief Education Officer.
Where did David Glancy work before?
David Glancy's earlier career included Westin Hotels & Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, and Spectrum Foods.
