Barbara Nowak

The Saucy Sisters, Barbara Wichman Nowak and Beverly Wichman Pittman, are siblings, best friends and wine experts with a down-to-earth sensibility. In their books and in person they bring their sense of humor – as well as their passion – to the subject of wine. More than one reviewer has called them “GrapeNuts”!

Barbara and Beverly grew up in Northern New Jersey (Morristown, Parsippany, Mountain Lakes) with parents who loved to laugh, listen to music, and eat and drink well. That meant the girls had early exposure to such things as weeding the vegetable garden (which Barbara hated), opera recordings (which Beverly adored) and wine (which they both took to immediately).

Perhaps it was inevitable that, after separate careers (Beverly in a top-secret job at the CIA and as a Human Resources Professional and Barbara as a writer and Public Relations Manager), the sisters would come together to collaborate on food and drink-related projects.

Their first collaboration turned out to be a radio show, Sauced!, which they hosted and produced for ten years. They interviewed thousands of guests from the food and beverage world and even incorporated food and drinking songs submitted by independent song writers (many of whom came from the girls’ adopted hometown of Nashville).

Writing accompanied their radio career. Following on Barbara’s cooking reference book, Cook It Right, the sisters wrote restaurant guides, magazine articles, newspaper columns and, of course, blogs. The Saucy Sisters Guide to Wine – What Every Girl Should Know Before She Unscrews is their third book on wine.