Education
Welcome to episode 897 in which host Polly Hammond interviews Jim Morris in this episode of Uncorked
Show notes:
Today we are joined by Jim Morris, Vice President of Guest relations at Charles Krug, Napa’s oldest winery. Jim has made it his mission to remove the pretension of the wine business, leading the way with a cultural program that includes wine, art, food, and history. And he’s certainly succeeding. From a jam packed virtual event schedule during Covid, to a remarkably full schedule in 2021, and now, onto the second consecutive year of unparalleled event scheduling, including the Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa Valley.
Learn more about todays guest:
Vice President of Estate Management and Guest Relations of Charles Krug Winery ,home of the oldest winery in Napa and oldest tasting room in California
Morris’ tenure in the wine industry spans nearly two decades and includes a wide array of winery activations, Direct to Consumer management programs, and sales supervision. Most recently, he was tasked with overseeing the opening of Flanagan Winery’s Healdsburg tasting room and their existing winery’s full-scale renovation. Prior to that project, the Washington native was the lead in launching the tasting room experience of MacPhail Family Wines at The Barlow market complex in Sebastopol.
Beyond those previous ventures, Morris has played an important role in helping to build complete winery experiences from the ground up, as he was instrumental in commencing the Direct to Consumer programs at St. Anne’s Crossing Winery and Truett Hurst Winery respectively. Additionally, he has been key in helping improve the profitability and appeal of both Michel-Schlumberger and Martin Family Vineyards, which saw significant increases in revenue and traffic during his tenure at each winery.
“My goal is to create a memorable wine experience for everyone who visits us,” shares Jim. “At Charles Krug, we have an obligation to share our remarkable legacy and lead the way for Napa to become a cultural hub through wine, art, food, and history.”
And Jim insists that it is his mission to remove the pretension of the wine business. “Wine is complex enough. When you are starting as a student of this industry, there are really only two wines made in the world — yummy and yucky.”
Learn more:
More about the host Polly Hammond:
Polly is Founder and CEO of 5forests. She splits her time between Barcelona, Auckland, and Napa, consulting, writing, and speaking about the trends that impact today’s wine businesses. She’s an advisor to New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, host of Uncorked with the Italian Wine Podcast, cohost of the Real Business of Wine with Robert Joseph, and, occasionally, a knitter.
Polly is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned degrees in International Relations and French. Those studies led to a deep and abiding love affair with behavioural Economics, and her wine work is based on insights into all the crazy and irrational reasons consumers engage with brands.
With over 20 years experience in growing successful companies, Polly knows first hand the challenges faced by independent businesses. She approaches each client experience with empathy and understanding for what it takes to adapt and thrive in the real world.
To learn more about Polly Hammond visit:
Twitter: @mme_hammond
Instagram: @5forests
website: 5forests.com/
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