Over the past two decades, Marika Vida-Arnold has served as the Wine Director of the Ritz-Carlton Central Park, New York, Sommelier of the top-rated Laurent Tourondel Bistro, BLT Market and Sommelier for the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton with ‘Top Chef’ winner Kevin Sbraga. She developed the opening wine program at 10Arts with Chef Eric Ripert and Chef Jennifer Carroll. Her most recent project is the critically acclaimed Phenomenal Femmes Program, which focuses on female winemakers from around the globe. It has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Haute Living, Gotham, The Somm Journal and The Wine Enthusiast. She holds titles of Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and the American Sommelier Association. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine with the Society of Wine Educators and holds the Advanced Certificate for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. Marika is currently a Wine Educator for the International Law Firm Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCoy. She is a Sommelier and Presenter for The Yale Club Wine and Spirit Events in NYC. She has served on Eric Asimov’s Tasting Panel for the New York Times and been featured on Barrons.com for romantic wine picks. She is a freelance wine writer and a presenter at the Nantucket, Newport, Charleston, Santa Fe, Boston and Destin Food and Wine Festivals.