As life takes many twists and turns, and Cori Solomon likes to wear many hats, she has opened herself up to new adventures. Let’s learn about Cori Solomon.
Cori was an art major in college. After college, she became a Real Estate Broker. In 1998 Cori had the desire to go back to her art roots and draw her dogs, Salukis. Cori’s animal art evolved into a small cottage business. In 2010 Cori’s friend, a fellow writer, told her that since she knew so much about dogs, she should write about them. That same year Cori started a pet column, West LA Pets, for Examiner.com; writing about dogs includes discovering pet-friendly hotels and places to travel with pets.
Cori has done extensive traveling and collected wines since the 1980s; it was only natural that she spread her wings by writing about wineries that are dog-friendly or where dogs play a significant role in the winery itself. Less than six months after beginning her pet column, Cori expanded and started a food, wine, art, and travel column. By 2013, Cori found she needed a separate column to concentrate on the wines and wine tastings she now reviews.
It was during Cori’s first trip to Solvang as a writer that the doors opened for her. On that trip, by chance, Cori met the head of tourism for Solvang, CA, and one of the directors of the Santa Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance. As Cori is a little networker, opportunities quickly came her way. Cori established a list of PR contacts and was invited to events and media tours. The list continues to grow.
Since the closure of Examiner.com, you can either find all articles on her blog, The Written Palette, or the following outlets she writes for such as Big Blend Magazine, Dogster, FWT Magazine, Food Wine Travel Magazine, Great Escape Publishing, Rovology, Travel World International, and Wander with Wonder. Cori has been on several radio shows, including Big Blend Magazine and SoCal Restaurant Show.
Cori’s art background plays a significant role in her writing as she utilizes the palette both visually and verbally in many of her articles. As a person with food allergies, while writing restaurant reviews, Cori likes to explore and find those chefs that think outside the box and are willing to make accommodations for those with dietary restrictions.
Learn More About Cori Solomon
Cori’s writing epitomizes “write what I know,” and she shares her experiences and joy with topics in a passionate, candid, caring, and entertaining way. Like Cori’s art, where she looks beyond the eyes to find an animal’s inner soul and spirit, Cori looks for the story that lies behind the restaurant, chef, winery, winemaker, artist, or animal.
Since wine is central to Cori’s writing, she saw a much-needed niche and founded the 50-member LA Wine Writers.
In 2014 Cori earned her WSET Level 2 Award in Wines and Spirits. In 2015 Cori won a Maxwell Award from the Dog Writers Association of America for an article about a winery dog. Also, in 2015, Cori received the NASA American Wine Specialist Certification. In 2016 she was awarded the NASA Spanish Wine Specialist Certification. Cori won the Kari Winters Cat Rescue and Rehabilitation Award from the Cat Writers Association in 2017 for her story, The Gift: A Cat Rescue Story. In 2021 Cori won a Bronze Award in the 29th NATJA Awards Competition in the Illustrated Story Category for her article on the Southern Willamette Valley.
Cori has also won awards for her photography. In 2021 she received 1st place in the Winery Category and an Honorable mention in the Bottles and Glasses Category from the IFWTWA Photo Contest. In 2022 Cori won two separate first-place awards in the 2022 IFWTWA Photo Contest, one in the Landscape Category and the other in the Urban Landscape Category.
Currently, Cori is the President, Director, and the Membership Chair of IFWTWA. In addition, she co-hosts IFWTWA’s webinars, which showcase wine regions, travel destinations, professional development, and other topics.
Cori is a member of the following associations:
IFWTWA, International Food Wine Travel Writers Association
SATW, Society of American Travel Writers
NATJA, North American Travel Journalists Association
DWAA, Dog Writers of American Association