CEO/FOUNDER

Jacquelyn García Vadnais, founder of Global Wine Pursuit Tours and her consulting firm Expat Pursuit LLC, has traveled to 60+ countries and lived in 11+ countries. Jacquelyn specializes in luxury wine tours and gastronomic travel across Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

Born in San Diego, California, to a Spanish-American family, Jacquelyn splits her year between the United States, Salamanca, and Córdoba, Spain, and also retreats to cooler European destinations to escape the Spanish Summer heat.

With 10+ years in the global wine industry and 5+ years designing luxury travel experiences in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Scotland, Ireland, France, and select Latin America and Asia destinations, Jacquelyn delivers unparalleled vineyard tours, wine tastings, and culinary adventures.

Jacquelyn holds a BA in International Relations from the George Washington University, a JD/MBA from Suffolk University, an LL.M from the University of Miami and Fordham Law School, a Master of Art Business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, a Master’s in Art History from Universidad de Salamanca, and a WSET Level 2 in Wines from the Napa Valley Wine Academy. She creates art-inspired wine pairings, and immersive activities like tapas maridajes and cooking classes, elevating luxury gastronomic tours.

Jacquelyn is currently conducting doctoral research at Universidad de Salamanca on Sephardic Jewish and Moorish influences in Spanish Fine & Decorative Arts/Architecture (900–1500 A.D.), which enriches her cultural wine tours, blending history with gastronomy.

Interesting Facts about Jacquelyn:

Favorite Wine Grape: Nero d’Avola from Sicily, Italy

Favorite Travel Destination: Rethymno, Crete

Favorite Activity: Jacquelyn enjoys learning languages. She is currently studying Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Italian for academic research at the Universidad de Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain.

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Julie Vadnais, the Director of Operations of Global Wine Pursuit, brings over 25 years of experience managing operations for professional service firms in California and New York (Manhattan) to our company.

With a graduate degree in Accounting & Financial Management from the University of San Diego and a BA in English Literature from San Diego State University, she ensures seamless tour bookings, client relations, and strategic partnerships for the company’s luxury wine and gastronomic tours.

Based between Salamanca and Castilla y León, Spain, Julie drives operational excellence for Global Wine Pursuit, delivering unparalleled experiences for clients.

Julie has extensive experience organizing luxury travel and event planning experiences in Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, and Germany.

Interesting Facts about Julie:

Favorite Wine Grape: Tempranillo from La Rioja, Spain

Favorite Travel Destination: Ávila, Spain

Favorite Activity: Julie has 35+ years of experience doing Pilates.

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Maximiliano García Chirinos was born in Caracas, Venezuela and spent a great deal of time traveling between Caracas, Venezuela, Margarita Island, and the United States.

He studied Law at the Universidad Santa María in Caracas, Venezuela and obtained his JD/LL.M from the University of Miami where he completed a semester abroad at Peking University in Shenzhen, China. Maximiliano holds an MBA from Fordham University.

Maximiliano worked on a series of consulting projects between LATAM, European, and Asian markets related to global real estate, product sourcing, immigration law, entity formation, and brokering deals between suppliers in global manufacturing. Maximiliano has experience in travel planning of elite experiences to Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal.

Maximiliano is delighted to expand his consulting firm Expat Pursuit to assist luxury travelers and global luxury brands with curated luxury experiences. Maximiliano speaks Spanish and English fluently. Maximiliano is currently studying Italian.

Interesting Facts about Maximiliano:

Favorite Wine Grape: Tinta de Toro from Toro, Spain

Favorite Travel Destination: Lyon, France

Favorite Activity: Maximiliano greatly enjoys smoking Maduro cigars from Nicaragua and pairing them with Tinta de Toro red wines from Toro, Spain.