About Tyler Balliet

Tyler Balliet

(She/ Her)

Author, Rebel School of Wine

Hi! I’m Tyler Balliet. I'm an entrepreneur and journalist, and I’ve been reshaping the wine industry since 2006.

As the cofounder and CEO of Rosé Mansion, I created and operated a massive, pink wine-themed interactive experience in New York City that sold over 225,000 tickets in the first year. Before that, I cofounded and ran Wine Riot, a nationwide traveling wine festival that introduced over 150,000 Millennial attendees to wine through high-energy, educational events across six major U.S. cities.

I was an Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30 and on the cover for Wine Enthusiast’s inaugural 40 Under 40. I’ve judged international wine competitions, visited wine regions across the globe as a journalist and interviewed hundreds of key industry leaders. I’ve sipped wine on live TV over 100 times and appeared on CNN, ABC News, and Good Morning America, sharing wine and business expertise. 

My 20-year career has allowed me to experience almost every aspect of the wine industry. I spent two years trying to cram everything I have ever learned about wine,­ including the stories behind the bottles,­ into this book.

Awards and Recognition

  • 2025 James Beard Foundation Book Award Nominee

    Pair text with an image to focus on your chosen product, collection, or blog post. Add details on availability, style, or even provide a review.

  • Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40

    Appeared on the cover of the inaugural Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 issue in May 2013. I'm the one in the red pants!

  • Inc Magazine 30 Under 30

    In 2010 I was named Inc Magazine 30 Under 30 along with some new startups like AirBnB, Rent the Runway, and HerCampus.

Published May 2024

Rebel School of Wine

Author

My book was nominated for a James Beard Award. I wrote Rebel School of Wine because we deserve a highly informative wine book that’s fun to read but doesn’t talk down to people. Rebel School of Wine is a comprehensive guide to wine with 450 custom illustrations. It covers every major region, grape, and style, shows how wine is made, but also the history, science, politics, economics and culture of wine. It’s published by HarperCollins and it currently sits on the shelves of over 600 bookstores.

2018 - 2020

Rosé Mansion

CEO & Cofounder

Before that, I wanted to make wine more playful, so in 2018 I maxed out every credit card I could get and created Rosé Mansion, a thirty two thousand square-foot pink wine amusement park in Manhattan. I sold 225,000 tickets in only 12-months. You could jump out of a giant cake and throw confetti, swing from a chandelier, blend your own wine, and sit in a bathtub in a secret garden tossing rose petals and each room was paired with a different pink wine. It was a place where you could get together with friends, step into a magical dreamland and take a break from the stresses of daily life.

Combining wine with culture and online trends peaked the attention of national media. I was on Good Morning America, CNN, ABC News, and so many more. We were so successful The New York Times even wrote a hate piece about us—which is how you know you’ve made it. In eighteen short months I sold 225,000 tickets and grew the company to 100 employees and had just raised millions of dollars from a major venture capital firm so we could expand to Chicago and LA but then COVID hit. By August 2020, it was all gone.

2009 - 2016

Wine Riot

Cofounder & Owner

But Rosé Mansion wasn’t my first rodeo. In 2009 I felt we needed a truly educational wine event but with the fun, high energy atmosphere of a night out so I created Wine Riot, a traveling wine festival where you could taste 250 different wines from around the world and learn about them from experts. In eight years I produced fifty Wine Riot events across the US hosting 25,000 people each year and I personally taught over four hundred wine seminars, with names like “You Probably Don’t Hate Chardonnay” and “How to Order Italian Wine Like a Boss.”

2016 - 2017

Wine Riot Store

Cofounder & Owner

I also designed and owned an award-winning wine store in Boston. The walls were covered in custom illustrations and maps that helped the staff tell the story of wine to customers.

2006 - Present

Journalist

As a journalist, I’ve traveled to Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, all over California and the US where I met with winery owners, winemakers and judged wine competitions. I’ve been a keynote speaker at conferences, designed wine labels, sold wine online, and consulted for wineries.

I was on the cover of Wine Enthusiast for the inaugural 40 Under 40, landed Inc. Magazine’s 30 Under 30, and I’ve won a ton of other awards. I’ve poured wine on live TV more than 100 times, and I have personally been featured by most major media outlets.

The last twenty years have been a wild journey but I'm just getting started. Come along and we’ll change the wine world together!

Press & TV Appearances

  • Good Morning America

    Giving a tour of Rosé Mansion on opening day, July 2018. If I look tired that’s because I was pouring epoxy flooring until 5am and GMA just showed up at 10am.

  • CNN Business

    Talking about Rosé Mansion and dropping a Taylor Swift quote on CNN in 2018.

  • ABC News

    Giving a tour of the second Rosé Mansion to ABC News Anchor Kimberly Brooks in 2019. It was a packed day and guests were asking us to take their photos.

Photos from Rosé Mansion

Photos from Wine Riot