WINE AMBASSADOR - Key Persons
Jessica Sennett, founder of Cheese Grotto (The Wine Cellar for Cheese) has specialized in cheese making and cheese retail for the last 13 years. She worked at many acclaimed cheese shops including Cowgirl Creamery, Formaggio Kitchen and Bedford Cheese Shop in addition to apprenticing in France and Washington.
She makes her own cheese and is well-versed in tasting, educating, and cooking with cheese.
In 1980, he formed Palm Beach Accounting & Investments, Inc. building a successful accounting and tax practice. Lee's prepared over thousands of individual, business, trusts and estates tax returns. In 1997 he sold his accounting and tax practice clients, maintaining ownership of the corporation.
Lee has traveled for business providing forensic accounting services, consulting, and interim and Fractional CFO work for Venture Capital firms. He's reported on his findings of their multi-million dollar incubator portfolio companies and has been able to determine their true profitability for additional levels of investor funding or bankruptcy potential to limit portfolio losses. Lee has held the positions of Trustee and Executor for his Trust clients. He has served on the Boards of two public companies in the USA and Canada as well as experience in S.E.C. filings.
As CFO, Lee is an invaluable asset to our management team.
Rory comes to us from the Direct Marketing and Online Marketing Industry for over 30 years. He is an Online Marketer and Trainer/Motivational Professional. He is an Industry Expert in Online Marketing with proven Specialties in S.E.O., Blogging Systems, Social Media Marketing and Ascension Marketing.
Rory remains at the helm of proven and ongoing Online Marketing Firms. With this comes incredible shared resources and leading Customer Support and Educational Training Systems to take us to incredible levels of Success.
Rory comes to us with incredible experiences, training, results and resources in Marketing to share success with our Wine Ambassadors. Rory brings us proven Corporate Leadership to lead towards Global Success and Global Expansion.
Rory is also an expert in Marketing, Customer Support, E-commerce, Merchant Processing Solutions, and is heavily working with Block-chain Solutions. Rory's love for Family, Fine Wines, and helping everyone possible to achieve more out of life inspired us to add him to lead our Company as the CEO. Rory is well traveled and has been building International Business for 26 years and has a Vision and Drive that is truly incredible.
Rory is an incredible lover of Fine Wines, Dark Chocolate; and most importantly in Giving Back to help anyone take advantage of the Incredible Opportunities that are being made available here with us. Rory's beliefs and actions aim to help anyone willing to be teachable access to an incredible future in education, fine wines and personal development.
With Rory leading us, we will have the happiest Company for anyone to be successful with.
Rudy von Strasser's journey into winemaking actually began at the University of New Hampshire while studying agriculture. His goal was to be "The King of Hard-Cider", writing his thesis on hard-cider production. While traveling across the country, Rudy took a job at Robert Mondavi Winery in 1980 with intention to take tips-and-tricks from the wine industry to apply to hard-cider production; he ended up falling in love with wine.
Like so many have done, Rudy enrolled in the Enology program at U.C. Davis. However, unlike anyone before him, Rudy took a chance and wrote a letter to Eric de Rothschild of the world-famous Chateau Lafite-Rothschild seeking an internship opportunity for a harvest. He became the first American to receive this internship and spent the 1985 harvest working at the Chateau. When he returned, Rudy worked at Trefethen in the cellar, and then Newton Vineyards as the assistant winemaker under John Kongsgaard. These experiences would build the foundation Rudy would use for von Strasser Winery and its distinct winemaking style.
In 1990, Rudy and Rita von Strasser found the perfect site upon which to build their winery, as wells as live and raise their three children: Diamond Mountain. An area known for producing some of Napa Valley's most exceptional Cabernet Sauvignons. The 30-acre property was formally Roddis Estates, and next door to Diamond Creek. The first vintage (1990) was produced from the existing 6-acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and over the last 30 years we have expanded across the Diamond Mountain AVA sourcing incredible vineyards to produce our current portfolio of award winning of Cabernet Sauvignons and Bordeaux Style Reserve Red Wines.
In 2015, a new opportunity presented itself to Rudy and Rita: Lava Vine Winery. A small tasting room and winery just across the valley that had its own cult following; a fervent fan base that loved the "alternative varietals" that were being produced. Specializing in Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Tempranillo, Petit Sirahs and many more small lots, Rudy saw a new challenge.
Today, von Strasser Family of wines produces three brands: Rudy, Lava Vine and von Strasser. Von Strasser continues to be our flag ship; award winning single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons. Lava Vine is our "ABC" label: Anything But Cabernet. These "alternative varietal" wines come from hand-selected single vineyards throughout California and Napa Valley. Rudy is our négociant-style brand, where you get the best value. While we do have a diverse range of varietals, these wines are very exclusive, limited case production wines, majority of which are sold only in the tasting room and to the wine club.