Sommelier & Wine Director Tonya Pitts
An industry changemaker, Tonya Pitts is a wine professional who catapults wineries and winemakers into the mainstream. She is also a leader for diversity and inclusion in the hospitality, food and beverage industries.
Tonya is a certified sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers and a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International. Her career has been shaped by women chefs and restaurant owners. As Sommelier & Wine Director for One Market Restaurant in San Francisco for 16 years, Tonya continues to curate a wine list with a bold style and flavor profile, including offerings by women, BIPOC and LBTIQA+ winemakers. Tonya’s wine programs for One Market Restaurant have annually received the Best of Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator.
Tonya is an active philanthropist and mentor. She established Women in Wine to improve representation in the industry. She also has taught University of San Francisco students on food and wine pairings. And she joined Wine Unify as an ambassador, advisory board member and mentor to people in the BIPOC and LGBTQ communities who are pursuing careers in the industry. Tonya is a core committee member of Batonnage Forum Mentorship Program, a board member for United Sommelier Foundation, Winebow’s Women in Leadership Wine Symposium and Teneral Cellars, who are dedicated to empowering and elevating women.
Tonya has been a an annual judge for the San Francisco International Wine Competition, a speaker at Culinary Institute of America Summit for Beverage Professionals, and an advisor for Areni Global, the Fine Minds4Fine Wines think tank in Europe. Her media appearances on behalf of One Market Restaurant include CBS This Morning, CNBC, ABC 7 News “Sips with Spencer” (video clip), Daily Beast, Wine & Spirits Magazine, Somm Journal, Tasting Panel, Wine Stream, Wonder Women of Wine, Imbibe and Wine Spectator.
Her recent appearances include judging for TEXSOMM and Wines of Loire Valley, Wine of Sicily and Gordon Ramsey’s Food Stars television show. She is a recent winner for Wine Director/ Sommelier of the Year 2022 by Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s Wine Star Award. Also, Tonya has a Honoree Legends Award for Sommelier of the Year 2021 with the Hue Society for the Wine & Roses Festival and Ebony Magazine’s Inaugural Black Sommeliers of the year 2023.