Wine, Work, and Passion

Have you ever thought about becoming a wine sales rep or wondered what it would be like to work for distributor?  Well then today’s show is for you.

My guest is Pat O’Sullivan, the Chief Sales Officer at Heidelberg Distributing in Ohio & Kentucky.

Pat is a wine industry veteran with over 35 years of experience in sales and management and in this interview, he’ll peels back the layers within the wine distribution system and reveals tons of job opportunities.  I must say, this is one of my favorite episodes.

Resources:

Book a private career coaching session with Karen Wetzel at https://go.oncehub.com/KarenWetzel

Receive a 5% discount on any Napa Valley Wine Academy classes, including WSET.  Register for your course at www.napavalleywineacademy and use promo-code NVWApodcast

Sign up for our newsletter at https://go.napavalleywineacademy.com/wine-news-that-educates to learn about upcoming events, new courses and free webinars

To find available positions at Heidelberg Distributing:  https://heidelbergdistributing.com/careers/

In this episode I’ll talk to Cat Wolinski, Senior Editor at VinePair, the largest digital media company in the beverage space.  VinePair publishes engaging, entertaining and inspiring articles about all types of beverages and the experiences you’ll have with a glass in your hand.

Cat will share her experience and expertise from an editor’s point of view and help put those of you who are aspiring writers on a path to a career sharing your enthusiasm about wine and other beverages

In the end when Cat will tell us how you can use your writing skills and get published now.  

Resources:

Book a private career coaching session with Karen Wetzel at https://go.oncehub.com/KarenWetzel

Receive a 5% discount on any Napa Valley Wine Academy classes, including WSET. Register for your course at napavalleywineacademy and use promo-code NVWApodcast

Sign up for our newsletter at https://go.napavalleywineacademy.com/wine-news-that-educates to learn about upcoming events, new courses and free webinars

To learn how to pitch your articles to VinePair: https://vinepair.com/how-to-pitch-vinepair/

Founded in 1883, Wente Vineyards is located in Livermore California and is America’s longest, continuously operated family-owned winery.  Today I’ll talk to Aly Wente, Vice President of Marketing & Customer Experience and Fifth Generation Wente Winegrower.  

Recently named to the Wine Enthusiasts prestigious Top 40 under 40 Tastemakers list for 2021, Aly will share her expertise about working in wine marketing as well as winery hospitality and customer experiences.  

In the end Aly will give us actionable insights about how you can put your enthusiasm for wine together with your marketing and service skills to enter this exciting industry.   

Resources

Book a private career coaching session with Karen Wetzel at https://go.oncehub.com/KarenWetzel

Receive a 5% discount on any Napa Valley Wine Academy classes, including WSET.  Register for your course at www.napavalleywineacademy and use promo-code NVWApodcast 

Sign up for our newsletter at https://go.napavalleywineacademy.com/wine-news-that-educates to learn about upcoming events, new courses and free webinars

To learn more about careers at Wente Vineyards:  https://wentevineyards.com/careers

You’ve probably heard about home-based wine sales, but have you ever wondered if it’s right for you?  Well, if you have a passion for wine and an entrepreneurial spirit, this episode is for you.  

Today I’ll introduce you to Tiffany Wojtkiewicz, (Why Kev Itch) President and CoFounder of ONEHOPE.  Tiffany will tell us all about OneHope and how you can be your own boss, working from home while supporting worthy causes around the world.  

We’ll also be joined by OneHope Cause Entrepreneur, Lauren Brown, who is also their first Senior Impact Director, to get her insights on what it takes to be successful in this growing home-based wine sales industry.

In this Episode, Karen Wetzel speaks with Michael Cerio, VP of Operations for Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners. Michael will share his experience and knowledge of the wine industry from a "back of the house" perspective and talk about the many jobs that fall under this umbrella. Michael will close out the interview with actionable insights to follow this path to enter the wine world and what is it takes to land a job.

Book a career coaching session with Karen: https://go.oncehub.com/KarenWetzel

SHOW NOTES:

Karen Wetzel: Today, I'll talk to Michael Cerio, vice president of operations for distinguished vineyards and wine partners. Michael will share his experience and knowledge of the wine industry from a back-of-the-house perspective and talk about the many wine jobs that fall under this umbrella. Be sure to stay tuned until the end when Michael we'll close out the interview with actionable.

Karen Wetzel: To follow this path to enter the world of wine and what it takes to land the job. And now, let's get to our interview.

Karen Wetzel: welcome, Michael. Thanks for joining me today. Could you please tell our audience who you are and what exactly do you do in the wine industry? I'd

Michael Cerio: be happy to thank you, Karen. And thanks for having me on this morning. I really appreciate the opportunity. So my name is Michael. And I'm the vice president of operations for distinguished vineyards and wine partners.

Michael Cerio: And I've been working for this company for about four months. Yeah.

Karen Wetzel: One thing I wanted to ask you before we get into your stories so that people know who distinguished vineyards are. So you're a supplier. You have a catalog of wineries that the company represents. Could you give us a couple of names that people might know of?

Karen Wetzel: Some of the brands you

Michael Cerio: represent? Sure. I'd be happy to. We'd like to say that we represent a collection of. Wineries from prestigious wine regions around the world is the tagline. So some of the wineries that the names that may be familiar to your listeners would be Markham and Saint Alena across the, and Sonoma.

Michael Cerio: We also own the Argyle winery up in Oregon. And then some of the other brands that we represent are dough wines, as well as Texas. From New

Karen Wetzel: Zealand. Oh, that's great. Well, I was just at Markham. I did a little visit there with some friends the other day, and it was wonderful. And actually, at Danette valley wine academy, we use the textbook Cabernet as one of the wines in the wine kits we send out for our WSET courses.

Karen Wetzel: So I'm very familiar with some of your brands, so that. Let's start off at the beginning. Really? How did you get into the wine industry? What's your story of your wine journey, I guess, of your white career?

Michael Cerio: So I did not intend to get into the wine industry. When I first got out of college back in the nineties, I really didn't have any clear idea about what it was.

Michael Cerio: I wanted to do the economy wasn't that great at the time. And so I jumped into some restaurant work, doing a little bit of substitute teaching, even considered law school at that time. And it fell into completely by accident—the commercial baking.

Karen Wetzel: From lawyer to baker,

Michael Cerio: I've got a diverse set of interests, I guess you could say.

Michael Cerio: So. Yeah. I just fell into this role working for a company that was at the time baking the bonds for McDonald's on the east coast. So I got really interested in the sales and service side of the business. Initially, that was where my role was focused. But as I got deeper into it, I got really curious about how do you make bread and rolls?

Michael Cerio: And what's the science behind that. And so I find myself. The American Institute of Baking and the company agreed to pay my way in terms of expenses to go to Manhattan, Kansas, for four months and learn how to be a baker. Wow. So yeah,

In this episode of Wine, Work & Passion, we’ll talk to Peter Marks, Master of Wine, Instructor, and partner in Napa Valley Wine Academy.

In this episode of Wine, Work & Passion, we’ll talk to Curtis Mann, Master of Wine, Group Vice President – Alcohol (Wine, Beer & Spirits). Curtis shares insights about working on the retail side of the wine industry and provide actionable advice to help you in pursuit of your wine industry career.  He’ll also share his experience as one of only 52 Masters of Wine in the US/Canada.

In this special episode, we’ll talk to Morgan Bailey, Hospitality Director at Quintessa Winery, about the surge in available wine jobs as wineries reopen and the busy season approaches. Morgan will share her experience and expertise and offer advice on how you can find and secure a job right now in wine hospitality.

In this inaugural episode, you’ll meet Christian Oggenfuss, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Napa Valley Wine Academy. He’ll inspire you with his amazing journey on his way to becoming the CEO of America’s Premier Wine School, and I’ll share my story as well. We’ll also offer expert advice on how you can enter our exciting industry.