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Justin Hammack
James Beard Award winner
- Discipline
- Other
i. Biography
Justin Hammack founded Wine Folly in 2011, shaping it with his partner as a wine club built around a simple but expansive idea: each month would open the door to a new wine region. What began as a focused way to explore the world of wine gradually took on the texture of a larger project—part education, part discovery, and part invitation to see wine less as a fixed subject than as a living, shifting map. A graduate of Cal Poly Pomona with a focus on wine education, Hammack has long approached wine with the steady eye of a teacher and the curiosity of a traveler, bringing structure to a subject that can otherwise feel opaque. He is the founder and co-founder of Wine Folly, and that dual identity sits at the center of his work: building, explaining, and guiding at once.
Coming Up
Justin Hammack trained at Cal Poly Pomona, where his interest in wine education found a formal foundation. That training continues to echo through the way he works today. He is now the core of Wine Folly, helping shape the project’s voice, direction, and identity. Alongside that role, he is the business coordinator of KBR, extending a practical, organized side to his work in the wine world. The path from student to founder is a familiar one in outline, but in Hammack’s case it reads as a measured progression—education first, then a platform, then the ongoing task of making wine more accessible without flattening its complexity.
Where They Are Now
He remains the founder and co-founder behind Wine Folly. That continuity matters: Wine Folly is not just a past achievement, but an ongoing expression of Hammack’s approach to wine education. The project’s origins in 2011 still shape its identity, with the monthly rhythm of exploring a new wine region lending it a sense of motion and curiosity. Hammack’s role has been to sustain that spirit, keeping the work grounded while allowing it to remain open-ended. In a field where information can easily become intimidating, Wine Folly has been built as a bridge—inviting, organized, and attentive to the pleasures of learning.
Signature
Each one carries forward the Wine Folly name with a sense of clarity and range, reinforcing the platform’s place as a steady reference point for readers drawn to wine, its regions, and the language used to understand it. In that sense, Hammack’s signature is less about embellishment than about translation—taking something broad, layered, and often intimidating, and giving it form.
Recognition
Justin Hammack has received James Beard Media Awards, Beverage category nominee (2019).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Justin
Where did Justin Hammack train or study?
Justin Hammack trained at Cal Poly Pomona.
What is Justin Hammack known for?
Wine education.
