ALTROTTA'S AMPHORA - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Winemaking, DeLoach Vineyards and Buena Vista Winery
Always exploring, Brian is also making natural wines fermented and aged in amphorae
4th generation Sonoma Napa Valley winemaker, with family history that dates back over 100 years!
Bruce is into his 6 year working for the Boisset Collection as their Ambassador Program Marketing & Ecommerce Lead. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications & Advertising from the University of Wisconsin, Steven's Point and over 20 years marketing experience, including the last 13+ in the wine industry, Bruce has worked for some large wineries in Napa Valley managing direct-to-consumer wine sales through many direct-to consumer marketing platforms. Since achieving his Court of Master Sommelier certification in 2013 and becoming WSET level 2 Wines & Spirits certified in 2019, Bruce has been passionate about his continued learning about all things wine from vineyard to bottle. In his spare time, Bruce spends quality time with his wife and two daughters at his home in Santa Rosa; his hobbies include collecting wine, running, swimming, hiking and playing bass guitar in his Sonoma-based rock band, The Henry Coopers.
Job Titles:
- Ambassador Program 's Head of Operations
- Head of Operations & Customer Success Manager
Ellen Springwater is the Ambassador Program's Head of Operations & Customer Success Manager. If Ellen looks familiar it's because she has been with Boisset Family Estates for over twelve years as their Retail Operations Manager, overseeing some of the company tasting rooms!
Heather Beth has been our Ambassador Memberships Guru for almost 6 years now, coordinating the Wine Society and now the JCB Collectors Membership program. Her commitment is to bring excellence to the membership experience in the Boisset Ambassador Program. She has been in the wine industry since 2011 and has thrived in the direct-to-consumer world managing wine clubs and providing impeccable customer service to all of her wine customers. As a renaissance woman, she brings multi-faceted experience from her previous careers in Sports Broadcasting, Advertising Sales, Veterinary Medicine and as Business Owner and Operator. In her spare time Heather Beth is an Audio Book Narrator and Producer and she likes to hike, shoot her bow and spend time with her many rescued fire cats.
Job Titles:
- President of Boisset Family Estates
Jean-Charles Boisset serves as president of Boisset Family Estates, one of the world's leading family-owned wine companies, with wineries in Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Rhone Valley, the South of France, and expertise in French sparkling wines.
Job Titles:
- Master 's Degree in International Wines and Spirits
Entered the world of wine at 17, working on a family estate in Saint-Emilion
Laurie joined the Boisset family in May of 2012 with the launch of Boisset Ambassador Program and has been integral in helping grow the this division from its infancy. As the Orchestrator of Success she oversees the operational aspects of the business and takes great pleasure supporting the growing team of Ambassadors as well as their customers and Wine Society members.
Laurie has a diverse background of experiences, but her primary focus has been on customer care and office management. Her strengths in operations, field development, marketing, team-building and corporate training and development all enable her to tackle the most challenging of circumstances with ease. She has over fifteen years of experience in the wine industry and over eight years in Internet technology.
Lucie is a thought leader in the region making soulful white wines
Job Titles:
- Director of Sparkling Wines, Louis Bouillot
Job Titles:
- Member of the Customer Service Team for the Boisset Collection Ambassador Program
Marilyn is the newest member of the Customer Service team for the Boisset Collection Ambassador Program. Through her upbringing, Marilyn has knowledge of both the Bay Area and South Florida (moving from the Bay Area to Florida and back to the Bay Area where her heart belongs). After graduating from college in Florida, she worked for county governmental agencies until her move back to California. Soon after her return she started in the wine industry and has not looked back after more than 20 plus years. What a great industry to be in! Her experience includes working with special events, catering, tasting rooms, concierge outreach, wine clubs, sales and more. Marilyn has one adult son whom she is very proud to be the mother of. For fun she enjoys going to the beach, photography, camping, hiking, attending live music events, dancing, pet sitting, bird watching and enjoying good wine with close friends.
Sommelier and author Marnie Old is one of the country's leading wine educators and serves as our director of vinlightenment, curating our wine portfolio, leading our wine trainings and designing our world-class Tasting Experiences. Prior to joining the Boisset family, Marnie revolutionized how wine is taught worldwide through her award-winning book Wine: A Tasting Course (DK 2014), an infographic primer that is now available in 17 languages. Formerly the director of wine studies for Manhattan's legendary French Culinary Institute, she also served as the founding education chairperson for the American Sommelier Association and as a regular guest speaker at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, CO. In her remarkable career, Marnie has designed wine programs for restaurants like Morimoto in Manhattan and consulted for retailers, vintners, celebrities, government agencies and trade associations. In addition to her work for Boisset Collection, she also writes for newspapers and magazines and her wildly popular wine tutorials on YouTube's Wine Simplified channel have millions of views.
Megan was born and raised in Napa and she loves living and working in Napa Valley. She joins Boisset with extensive experience working in the wine industry and running events. The guest experience is her top priority and she takes pride in providing solutions in a timely and courteous manner. When she is not helping guests, Megan likes to garden, read, camp and bake. She loves animals, rounding out her household with a dog, cat, fish, and chickens. She looks forward and is excited working with the Ambassador Team and meeting our Ambassadors in the near future!
Melissa grew up in the Chicago area and moved to the Bay Area soon after college. She began her career in finance, then technology, working at a number of successful start-ups and Fortune 500 companies. Her passion for wine and desire to be her own boss led to her to co-found one of the first e-commerce wine companies, WineShopathome.com. In 2012 after selling her interest in the business, she joined Jean-Charles Boisset to start a new direct-to-consumer division that brings the tasting room experience to homes across the country. The success of the Boisset Ambassador Program has been unlike anything in the wine world today. She is grateful for all of the incredible experiences and friendships she has made since joining Boisset. Melissa is a proud mom of three children and loves to travel (especially on our annual trip to France with the Ambassadors!) Her favorite wines are Domaine de la Vougeraie, the JCB No. 5 Rosé and the Raymond Sauvignon Blanc.
Job Titles:
- Director of Winemaking, Raymond Vineyards
Stephanie Vieira is our Corporate Concierge. Stephanie hails from Fremont, CA and now calls Sonoma home. Her role as the Corporate Concierge involves coaching, advising, and assisting with corporate gifting, custom label and etching orders. Stephanie found her love of the world of wine shortly after college within the restaurant industry and held many roles over seven years including server, bartender, trainer, and eventually into management roles. She spent an additional twenty years within the Hotel industry as a Catering Sales Manager, Dir. of Catering Sales & Events, and Dir. of Hotel Sales & Marketing. She has worked for several major hotel brands, a private historic mansion, and a Casino Resort in Scottsdale. She holds a B.A. in History, was a collegiate swimmer, and now spends her free time water color painting, hiking, and participating in trap shooting competitions.
Our guru of Grenache, Sylvain is determined to showcase the Rhône's leading grape