about
Mission
a passion for evolving
“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” – Ernest Hemmingway
“Have you ever mistaken a Bordeaux for a Burgundy wine? Not since lunch!” – Harry Waugh
“I’m in the only industry where they pay you to remember as many esoteric facts as possible while drinking.” – Ole Thompson
Wine is the most chemically complex food. It is a constantly evolving, living thing that changes with time, temperature, air, food and even consumer tastes. Many lifetimes have been dedicated to learning its stories and complexities and barely scratched the surface. The success of a wine brand, wine shop, importer, or restaurant follows a similar changing life trajectory. Our joy comes from working with the good ones and helping make them better.
We think evolution is a better way to grow than revolution. Taking something that already exists and has some good elements, identifying and making the adjustments to make it great, then telling the story of how it got there is where we get our thrills.
After 30 years dedicated to the industry, we’ve watched or been involved in many successes and challenges. Each of these lessons have taught us the industries best practices and what works best in the short and long term. We’d love to help you take your brand to the next level of success.
Principal
Ole Thompson
Ole has spent his entire adult life in the beverage industry. While still in college as a grocery buyer he loved the fact that it was constantly changing and he could never stop learning, there was so much to know. Over the last 30 years, he has managed retail, restaurants, distributors and importers; and consulted and sold for wineries. He enjoys using the knowledge he’s gained to take other wine programs to the next level.
Some highlights from his career:
- As a grocery buyer he doubled sales and started the first weekly brewery and winery public tastings held in a grocery store in Washington state.
- While running Wild Ginger restaurant group in Seattle, he took the wine program to a Grand Award in the Wine Spectator and 2 restaurants to Awards of Ultimate Distinction from The Wine Enthusiast. He managed a cellar of 35,000 bottles and a 90-page wine list with 3,500 selections and was voted Sommelier of the Year in Washington State.
- Over the years, he has been on several local and national radio programs talking about food and wine and has been featured and quoted in many print publications.
- He got his start blending and tasting with coffee as a teenager and has helped wineries blend and create new wines and brands. Even blending a wine that received 98-100 points from Robert Parker.
- He estimates that he has tasted over 500,000 wines in his life and has been a judge at many wine competitions.
- He has led hundreds of training meetings for distributors on spirits, wine and beer brands.
- He was part of the Treasury Wine Estates luxury wine team that was featured in the first ‘Somm’ movie.
- He grew up on a farm in Oregon, but still thinks the hardest work he has ever done was helping plant the first Albarino vineyard in Western Washington.
- He has helped raise millions of dollars for both wine education and Seattle Children’s hospital.
- He started an industry blind wine tasting group in 2006 that still meets weekly.
