The Vino Cru of certified #sommelier Alexa Weber and marketer Christine Pollack met working together for Pudding River Wine Cellars located in Salem, Oregon. In this video they recorded with Pudding River’s owner and #winemaker Sean Allen, the cru talks about the Willamette Valley, Oregon’s largest #wine producing region. Check out other videos in the Willamette Valley on PR’s channel “Pudding River Wine.”
WELCOME!
Cheers from The Vino Cru! We’re wine lovers and wine experts who are sharing our knowledge and insights on the wine, retail, hospitality and travel industries with you. We’re talking wine from coast to coast! Our founders are based in Oregon and Virginia, two of the top five American wine producing and wine tourism states. Our “motley cru” of wine professionals, drinking buddies and oenophiles are excited to virtually “cheers” with you! Follow us on Instagram and Twitter: @thevinocru. Consulting inquiries and virtual tasting/education services: thevinocru@gmail.com.
The Vino Cru Founders:
Alexa Weber, certified sommelier, Oregon
Christine Pollack, marketing/communications, Virginia
Alexa Weber, Sommelier. Alexa is sales manager for Pudding River Wine Cellars in Salem, Oregon, a winery, vineyard, tasting room and custom crush business producing world-class Willamette Valley and Walla Walla AVA wines. Her career in the food, beverage and hospitality industries spans 20 years, including serving as sommelier for the luxury ski resort Montage Deer Valley and assistant manager of Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort in Utah. Earlier in her career, Alexa was one of only a handful of women selling wine in the distribution industry in Utah. She got her start in the wine industry by working in a local wine shop and serving as a wine steward. Alexa has completed the French Wine Scholar Study & Certification program through the Wine Scholar Guild, making her an expert in French-produced wine, and is currently pursuing the Italian Wine Scholar certification.
Christine Pollack, marketing/communications. Chris is a government relations, advocacy and communications professional based in Washington, D.C., and an avid wine tourist and Virginia tasting room visitor. She has over two decades of extensive experience in issue advocacy campaign development and execution, direct lobbying, and traditional and social media communications services. Chris has worked collaboratively with federal government officials, advised Fortune 500 executives of the world’s largest retail brands, and has been quoted in leading publications such as the New York Times, the LA Times and POLITICO. As a side hobby in hopes of a future second career in the wine industry, Chris served as marketing and communications director for Pudding River Wine Cellars in Salem, Oregon, and spent a year learning the winery production cycle – from bud break to bottling to direct-to-consumer sales.