KarlHi, my name is Karl, and I am a Winegeek. My personal email is winegeekk@yahoo.com, please don’t spam me. I got addicted to wine while working in the restaurant industry. I took a position as Beverage Director at a private country club in Chicago. After a year of attending wine tastings and researching all things grape, I realized I wanted an environment where I could really learn. Asking around it was obvious what the best option for exposure to the wine industry was….retail. Scary as it was, my career change to retail wine sales was just shy of twenty years ago, and regret has never crossed my mind, not one bit. Every day I get to work with wines from every producer, from every region, from every country on this planet….no, you can’t have my job.
JonJon has been working in the industry since 1989. Throughout his career he has spent over 10 years working on the wholesale side of the business, and the rest on the retail end. Working on both sides of the business has exposed to him to a wide variety of products and trends that have come and gone over the years, allowing him to make quality decisions when ordering products that we know our customers will enjoy. You will often see Jon on the floor or behind the register. If you do, keep in mind that he is an excellent source for bourbon recommendations as well as Italian red wines.
Andrew'I’ve worked at Triphammer Wines and Spirits for over four years. In that time, I’ve tasted a thousand different wines made from over one-hundred different grapes. Among my favorite red wines are the reds from the Italian Piedmont, including Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera d’Asti; from California. I adore Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel; and, for a great value, the red wines from Spain and Portugal are tough to beat. My favorite white wine grape is Riesling! Luckily, there are many fine examples produced locally in the Finger Lakes, so I’ll never grow bored. Living in the Finger Lakes is also great because I get the opportunity to visit local wineries and meet the producers responsible for our great local wines. While working at Triphammer, I’ve also developed a passion for bourbon and other American whiskies. My current whiskey collection includes over 40 different bourbons and ryes with bottles representing each of the major Kentucky distilleries. In my free time, I enjoy home brewing beer and making my own hard cider from local juice. I plan to produce my first batch of homemade wine this fall from juice purchased from Fulkerson Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake.
SamanthaWhat I love about wine, besides drinking it, is getting to talk with people and share in the experience. After working in a local tasting room for a number of years I joined Experience! The Finger Lakes, a local team where I continue to work part-time giving wine tours of the Finger Lakes region. Working in the Finger Lakes wine industry for 5 years taught me a lot about our regional wines, but I wanted to learn more about the many other fantastic wine regions around the world. So, I decided to go for a Wine Marketing Certification from Tompkins Cortland Community College. I keep busy and continue to learn while working at Triphammer Wine & Spirits, giving wine tours and going to class. Feel free to ask me about a new wine I’ve tried or a food pairing recommendation.
AndyA native Englishman, my initial interest in wine came as a youth spending summers in France, including spells living in both Languedoc and the Loire Valley. After receiving a Tourism and Heritage Management degree in 2004 I then spent over a decade in wine bar and restaurant management in both London (2004-2009) and New York City (2009-2016) enjoying two of the worlds most vibrant and cosmopolitan cities. In early 2016 I left big city life and relocated to the Fingerlakes, where i quickly discovered a people and place passionate about food and wine. I have a particular taste for new world red, particulaly Zinfandels and Malbecs. Since moving to the Finger Lakes I have had a lot of fun discovering the local wine industry, of which I had little knowledge before moving here. I have fallen in love with the local Rieslings which I consider to be among the best in the world, and which pair very well with my obsession with spicy Asian food. I look forward to learning more and sharing the knowledge with you.