Gabrielle Malina is an academic-turned-sommelier who got her start hosting wine pop-ups around the city, and is now opening a brick and mortar wine bar in Somerville. She launched her wine pop up called First Crush (@firstcrushboston) in 2024 with the goal of throwing fun parties and highlighting wines from lesser known regions around the world. Through her pop-ups and the soon-to-open wine bar, she is rethinking the environment in which wine is consumed: swapping stuffy seated seminars for fun, casual, and accessible social events that highlight the incredible spectrum of natural wine. She moved to Boston in 2015 to pursue a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. After graduating in 2020, she worked at bars & restaurants around the city including Celeste, La Royal, the Koji Club, and most recently, Rebel Rebel. She holds her WSET Level 3 and is one month away from her final exam for her WSET Diploma.