NEED WEDDING WINES?

At Portalis since opening day 2003 is Gina, our Store Manager.  She’s a sommelier, and her extensive wine knowledge combined with her delightful company have earned her a following of her own.  In addition to her full-time position at Portalis, she is Scott Carsberg’s wine buyer at Seattle’s prestigious Bisato Restaurant (formerly Lampreia) and several years ago she started her own business, Premier Vineyard Tours, taking groups on wine tours to Italy.  (Check out her BLOG from her a recent trip.)  Her wine knowledge is vast, and she’s frank, reliable, gracious and a heck of a lot of fun, so it would be her pleasure (and yours) to have her help you pick out a case. 

Sky has been with us since 2005 and he may be the only tattooed, surfer-dude from Southern California who’s ever sold you a $100 bottle of Burgundy, but he does it regularly, so look out.  In all seriousness, Sky has many other personas (tax accountant, Barça tender, ultimate Frisbee maniac) but at Portalis, he’s a knowledgeable wine buff and excellent server who can get you to the wine you’re looking for as well as anybody.

Karli studied art history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where (just for the heck of it) she became a member of the St. Andrews Wine & Cheese Society wine tasting team, competing in blind tasting competitions (against the University of Edinburgh, Oxford & Cambridge), with scoring based on her ability to identify grape varietals, country of origin (including sub-districts) & the year the wine was produced.  So drop by with your wine questions and help her stay fit!

Travis has years of experience working in casual & fine dining. His knowledge of wine is vast, with favorite areas being Burgundy & Italian varietals. He's a marathoner, a fledgling screenwriter, and has the long-term goal of having his own restaurant one day, so keep on the look out for him!

How can you not hire a guy who reminisces in his interview about buying his first bottle of Albariño from Portalis back when we were in our original location (5310 Ballard Ave) almost 10 years ago?!  With a twinkle in his eye and fast with a grin, JJ will charm the heck out of you. He's funny (but not intrusive), has a lot of personal warmth, and wants to be darn sure you have a great time on your night out.

When we first opened, Gina and I were talking and she said, “We’re going to set the bar for wine in Seattle.”  And we do, so let us be your local wine merchant … your contact with the wine world.

We hope to see you soon & cheers!
Julie (pictured above with Jens)
Co-owner, Portalis Wines