As a second-generation sommelier and restauranteur from Chicago, Philippe Andre has been on the cutting edge of wine and cuisine for fifteen years. He developed a passion for hospitality, wine education and Champagne early in his career. Before his U.S. Ambassador role with Charles Heidsieck, Philippe focused on wine auction curation, luxury wine and spirits brand development, and private client management. In addition to his Champagne travels Philippe serves on the board of the United Sommelier Foundation in the support of future Sommeliers.
As the wine buyer, head sales person, and architect of the Progressive Scale for The Urban Grape, TJ is directly responsible for the store’s successes. He has been profiled by the New York Times, Food & Wine, Imbibe, Real Simple, Health magazine, MarketWatch, Eater National, Boston Magazine, Boston Common, The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Boston Business Journal, The Improper Bostonian, and Terroirist, among other regional and national publications. The Beverage Journal named TJ one of ten “Black Drink Innovators to Watch” in 2020. TJ has been featured on shows such as Basic Black (WGBH), The Hub Today (NBC), Dining Playbook (NESN), New England Living (CBS), and Chronicle(WCVB), and is a frequent guest wine educator at corporate meetings and retreats.
Thanks to TJ’s leadership, The Urban Grape was a finalist for Wine Enthusiast's 2020 Wine Star Award for Best Retail Store in the US, and was called “Boston’s Revolutionary Wine Store” in a cover story for Beverage Dynamics. He has taught classes on drinking progressively at, among other places, Christopher Kimball's Milk Street, the Boston Center for Adult Education, Boston University, and the Boston Wine Expo. TJ is a seven-time returning Sommelier for the Nantucket Wine Festival and has been featured as the resident wine expert on the New England lifestyle show, “Home, Life, and Design.”
TJ sits on the boards of the Fessenden School and Summer Search Boston and is the founding member of the Boston Black Golf Association.
Thomas’ entrance into the wine industry was created during a 1999 wine tasting trip to the Burgundy wine region in France. At the time he was a senior financial executive for a large biotechnology company and prior to going on that tasting trip, Thomas never dreamed of owning his own vineyards and making wine. It was that wine tasting trip in 1999 that altered his dreams, and led him to chart a new course in life… a life in the wine industry as a vintner. With the new found enthusiasm driving him forward, in 2001, Thomas was able to purchase a 40-acre parcel of land to begin the process of constructing that new future.
Located in The Anderson Valley, a cool climate wine appellation in south western Mendocino County, Thomas T Thomas Vineyards began with Thomas first developing the property and building a home, and in 2008, planting a 3-acre pinot noir vineyard. Also, in 2008, Thomas built a winery next to the vineyards, with the understanding that one day he would produce and store his own wine there. In 2011 with his first commercial crop, Thomas began selling his grapes to small local wineries that made wines from his grapes. Since Thomas didn’t have a background in the wine industry, he thought it prudent to take the long view, learning about the wine business from the ground up and he also wanted to see how his grapes performed in the hands of experienced wine makers. From 2011 until 2017, Thomas was a grape grower only, when in 2017, Thomas decided to take a small portion of his grape production to forwardly integrate and create his own wine brand; A decision that was always part of his long-range plans. Starting in 2018, Thomas stopped selling his grapes to third party wineries and now he takes 100% of his production for his own brand. Currently, Thomas makes four different pinot noir wines, where three wines are produced from 100% estate fruit and the fourth wine has a mix of non-estate fruit. Starting with the 2020 vintage, Thomas has added a Chardonnay wine offering, which he sources from quality vineyards in Anderson Valley and Thomas has also cleared additional land for a future planting of estate chardonnay.
In his short time in the wine industry, as grower, wines made from Thomas’ grapes have been recognized wining multiple Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at prestigious International Wine Competitions and also receiving multiple 90+pt scores by well known wine magazines. In his short time as a vintner, Thomas’ wines have already received multiple 90+pt scores and have received Platinum, Silver and Bronze medals at recent International Wine Competitions.
Chicago native Brian Duncan can be best described as a food, wine and hospitality evangelist. He possesses an unquenchable enthusiasm enriched by decades as a restaurateur, winemaker, seminar speaker and wine educator. Duncan has contributed his expertise to several Chicago’s premier dining destinations, including (Co-Founding) BIN 36 Restaurants, BIN Cafe Wine Bar and Market and A Mano Trattoria.
As a winemaker, Brian created the BIN 36 and D&S (Duncan & Sachs) wine brands sold in 30 markets around the United States. Under his guidance, BIN 36 received an “Award of Unique Distinction” from the Wine Enthusiast magazine for its commitment to delivering the most wine-friendly experience to its guests. BIN 36 was also chosen by Wine & Spirits magazine as “The Best Wine-Pairing System” in the nation. Brian's accolades include being featured as one of America's leading wine experts in GQ and Food & Wine magazine, and as a returning featured speaker at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic.
Brian was honored as the Gourmet Wine Cellar Wine Director of the Year, and received four consecutive James Beard Award nomination in the national "Outstanding Wine Service" category.
In 2015, Duncan created "Down To Earth Wine Concepts LLC", a multifaceted consulting company encompassing the culmination of his career experience and expertise in Public speaking, hospitality, food and wine training, interactive wine/food seminars and corporate team building exercises.
Resources:
https://www.winespectator.com/articles/a-live-chat-with-mac-mcdonald
http://www.austinbeeman.com/blog/completemac
Lou Garcia was born in the Bronx, New York and grew up on Long Island. He has a Bachelor’s degree from University of Cincinnati and an MBA in Finance & Marketing from Indiana University. He spent 25 years in various division, group, and corporate financial roles at three large companies - Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, and Avery Dennison.
In 1998, his first career venture outside the big corporate world was as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for LBC, Inc. in Lancaster, Ohio, the largest distributor of charitable gaming and bingo products, equipment, and services in the U.S. Lou developed an interest in the wine industry in the late 1990’s, but decided to wait and continue his search in California after accepting a job offer in 2001 to become CFO of a company in San Jose. However, he was still unable to find a senior financial position in the wine industry because he did not have any wine related experience. Lou combined his entrepreneurial spirit and love of wine when he and his wife, Janice, purchased Stover Oaks Winery, a small winery and vineyard in El Dorado County in the Sierra Foothills of California.
One year later, with hands-on experience, Lou became General Manager and CFO of Frank Johnson Vineyards and Roshambo Winery in Sonoma County and held this position for four years while owning Stover Oaks. In 2009, he became Controller & CFO for Hall Wines in Napa County and worked there through the end of 2015 when he retired with a plan to move back to Ohio. Even though he no longer owns the winery and vineyard property in the Sierra Foothills, he still maintains the Stover Oaks brand while living here in Ohio. The wines are made in California from locally grown grapes.
Lou has been owner of Blackthorn Enterprises, Inc. since it was created in 2004 to purchase Stover Oaks Winery. For the past four years, while still owning Stover Oaks, Lou was an independent sales agent for H & A Barrel Management which leases new barrels and sells used & reconditioned barrels to the wine & spirits industry. His recent focus has shifted to financial & business consulting and recently became Area CFO for SharpCFO providing fractional and interim advisory services for both profit and non-profit organizations.
As a strong believer in giving back to the community, Lou has been involved with many non- profit organizations over the years. He has participated in multiple community, college, and corporate fund raising drives including the United Way Board of Review in Fairfield County (Ohio) and the Napa Valley College Foundation (California) as a board member from 2012 thru 2015. He is currently V.P. & Treasurer for his trade association composed of wineries, vintners, and growers, a 501 (c) 6 non-profit, which was formed in 2002 in California. He is one of the Charter members.
Lou has consistently demonstrated success in achieving business objectives by providing analytical skills and financial advice that generate effective strategic and tactical decisions.
AAAV - https://www.aaavintners.org/
Stover Oaks - https://www.sierrawines.com/winery/winery00026.aspx
H&A Barrel Management - http://ha-barrelmanagement.com/
Association of African American Vintners:
Phil Long: plong@longevitywines.com
Longevity Wines: https://www.longevitywines.com
In this episode the tables are turned!! Our host Sukari Bowman is in the hot seat and is interviewed by Larissa Dubose of The Lotus and The Vines! Enjoy all of the laughter and love!
For more information:
1340 Beer Wine and Spirits: https://www.1340bws.com/
Derrick C. Westbrook: https://www.derrickcwestbrook.com/
Instagram: @1340bws
@derrickcwestbrook
For more information:
Shall We Wine:
Instagram: @shallwewine
YouTube: Shall We Wine
Innovation, Technology and Hope
Website: https://www.purplecorkscrew.com/
Instagram: @purplecorkscrewwine