Meet the Team

Mike Hickson is a Maryland Sales Consultant for Artisans & Vines. He joined the Artisans & Vines team in April 2021 and covers the Baltimore region, Annapolis, and the Eastern Shore. A proud native of Salisbury, MD, Mike resides in Catonsville, MD and has been happily married to his wife Donna, a physical therapist and native Pennsylvanian, for 10 years. They enjoy their time together traveling, cooking, dining, gardening, and exploring the outdoors. Some of Mike’s favorite things include traveling (he will gladly elaborate on his adventures…unless he has already!), discovering new restaurants, live music, hiking, and cycling. He has had an avid love of cooking since an early age thanks to his mother, and a love of boating and all things water-related thanks to his father. In addition to wine, he loves craft beer and cocktails, any beach, and as a side note, never loses at trivia. Mike is also an avid and passionate (too passionate at times!) fan of the Maryland Terrapins, Baltimore Ravens, and Baltimore Orioles. Mike began his career in the wine business by bartending at a wine bar while in college and has over 20 years of experience in many areas of the hospitality and beverage industry. He has acquired a vast array of knowledge in the field along the way. He is friendly, outgoing, and loyal, and is always happy to sit and talk about wine.

Women in Wine

Travel is back! We have felt so fortunate to have some very special visitors from around the globe these past few weeks. We have met with and learned from some amazing people in the wine industry and noticed they all had something in common- they are all women! We love to support women in wine and enjoy working with these incredible wineries.

Our first visitor this year, Alejandra Sarmiento seen with president of Artisans and Vines, Eric Platt, arriving from Aragon in Spain to represent Independent wines.

Next, extraordinary winemaker Carol Shelton visited us from Sonoma in California and taught us all more about her wines.

Finally, Anne-Charlotte visited us from Chateauneuf-du-Pape in France for a short, but successful trip sharing her wines from Font du Loup.

Spring Celebration Wines

Looking ahead, along with flowers, May often brings beautiful celebrations such as weddings and graduations. Here are two wines we suggest for spring celebrations:


Carmina Prosecco:  Intense fruit fragrance of peach, pear, green apple and a sensation of citrus fruit that fades into floral with notes of wisteria and acacia. Balanced and smooth with fresh acidity. A “classic” Prosecco. Zonte’s Scarlet Ladybird: The Scarlet Ladybird Rosé always comes up smelling of rose petals with lovely delicate ladylike edges. Notes of strawberries and cream, fresh red berry fruit. This wine is a real lady pleaser.

Pressworthy Wines

Keep your eye out for some exciting press on this wine. Check out the tasting notes for more details on what makes this one a great buy.

Zonte’s Super Trooper Shiraz– A rush of fresh berry, chocolate-mint, cloves and cedary, smoked bacon. Robust fruit with supple tannin makes for a moreish mouthful.

Looking Ahead

Find our wines as well as Ericka Stancliffe from Trombetta Family Wines at a fantastic charitable event in Arlington, VA. A night of wine, fun, and auction all for a great cause. This event takes place in various venues in Washington D.C. from May 4th-7th. Click here for more details.