The Way I Travel

Rose Thomas Bannister is a songwriter, sommelier, essayist, and filmmaker, and the creator of the multimedia publication Modo di Bere. In 2025 she was recognized as one of Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Future Forty tastemakers.

A New Yorker with Great Plains roots, Rose earned a poetry degree from the University of Nebraska, where she won writing awards and edited various literary magazines. In Lincoln, she founded a house concert venue called Clawfoot House. After touring extensively as a folk singer-songwriter, Rose moved to Brooklyn in 2012 and worked as a cocktail maker while developing a passion for Italian wine. She became a sommelier and worked in New York’s wine industry for over a decade. In 2023, Rose launched Modo di Bere, a multilingual podcast and travel show, and began Modo di Bere magazine, where she writes the column “The Way I Travel” (below).

Rose teaches courses at the Sommelier Society of America and leads wine presentations. She recently hosted tastings in Spain, taught a wine class at Golden Acres Organic Farm, and collaborated on bilingual wine events with Culture Without Borders Language Collective. She also produces wine education videos for Modo di Bere.

In 2024, Rose helped launch Amabile di Rosa, a sweet wine brand, by connecting a Piemontese winemaker with a Nigerian importer. The brand, named after Rose Thomas, is sold in West Africa and coming to markets around the globe.

Rose’s third album, The Little Wren, was released on vinyl in 2025.

Listen to Rose Thomas Bannister’s music

Watch the trailer for Modo di Bere TV, the travel show Rose Thomas created with Emilia Aghamirzai

Hire Rose Thomas to write, teach or present about wine

Suggest a collaboration around rare and minoritized languages