Wined Up

Pamela S. Busch is the Owner and Wine Director of CAV Wine Bar & Kitchen in San Francisco. Her first job in the wine industry was working at Astor Wines in New York City in 1990-91. There she was exposed to wines from far-flung places like Lebanon and grapes that she still has trouble pronouncing, like Tazzelenghe. This experience shaped her outlook and philosophy - Only poorly made wines are too weird to drink.In 1994 after living in San Francisco for three years she started Hayes and Vine Wine Bar, a trend setting wine bar in the Bay Area. She has consulted for numerous restaurants in California and founded The Grapes of Path wine school. Pamela has also written about wine and food for local and national publications such as Santé and Epicurean magazines and has a weekly wine column in the San Francisco Examiner.In 2003, Pamela began embarking on the creation of a new wine bar, one that would be a culmination of her experience as a buyer, educator and writer.  Taking some of the precepts of Hayes and Vine and augmenting it with a full kitchen, wine classes and retail, she laid the groundwork for CAV, which opened in September, 2005.