Liquid Bliss (lik’wid blis)

My name is Angela Gargano and I own Bliss Flow Yoga and Wellness Center (www.blissflowyoga.com) in Madison, Wisconsin, where I teach regular vinyasa yoga classes. In addition, I am a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers.

I grew up in my family’s restaurant surrounded by the smells of onions frying and the sounds of chopping and sauteeing. My Sicilian father (and chef) taught me early on about the joys of the table and a great glass of wine. My Midwestern mom (a former farm girl) taught me the importance of respecting where our food comes from.  I decided to follow this love of food and wine to San Francisco after college, where I worked as wine buyer.  It was a great introduction to the wider world of tastes, smells and experiences that Northern California offered and I savored every bite, from dim sum in Chinatown to Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa.

I discovered yoga shortly after and feel so lucky that I wandered into my first yoga class and stumbled through those first postures.  A few years after opening Bliss Flow Yoga, I had the pleasure to collaborate with fellow yoga instructor, David Romanelli, on the Yoga and Wine concept which brought two of my passions together.  The basic idea is that yoga can help to bring you into the present moment so that you can more fully appreciate all of the little pleasures of life, like food and wine, more fully. My retreats and workshops have been featured in The New York Times, MSN.com, Girlfriend Getaways-Budget Travel, Fitness Rx, Gotham Magazine, Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Metro New York and other national and local publications.