Today’s guest in the hot seat is CHRIS KERN
A graduate of Princeton University, President & CEO of wine retailers ForgottenGrapes.com and PasosBestWines.com, a self-taught wine expert and an experienced wine and culinary entrepreneur, Chris Kern travels across the country, educating wine drinkers of all ages (though always 21 and older, of course) with his encyclopedic knowledge of wine while keeping crowds enthralled with his outrageous, pop-culture-centered takes on vine and wine culture.
Chris has two online wine businesses for which he currently acts as CEO and President. Forgotten Grapes is an online and retail wine shop dedicated to wines from lesser known and uncommon varietals, regions, and producers. While there are over 6000 grapes grown around the world that can be made into wine, most wine drinkers and wine lovers only know eight of them. Chris shines a spotlight on and showcases those remaining 5,992 other varietals that produce exquisite wines of substantial quality but can usually be found at less than you’d pay for the more traditional varietal wines.
PasosBestWines.com is a brand-new concept for online wine retail, where Chris will be sells to wine-loving consumers only wines from California’s third-largest wine region Paso Robles and only wines from small, family-run boutique wineries. With over 250 boutique wineries in the region and a wider variation of wine styles, varietals, and geographic differences that any other wine region in California, Pasos Best Wines the only online source for the best wines from arguably California’s best wine region, Paso Robles.
Favorite Success Quote
To be honest, I do not have a favorite success quote, as I prefer to make my own quotes whenever I’m successful in a venture.
Favorite Business Book
Working with a new online wine start-up now, I’m super focused on books regarding start-up strategies and philosophies, so right now I’m loving “The Start-up Game” by Timothy Draper and “The Founder’s Dilemmas” by Noam Wasserman. I also enjoy narrative non-fiction about different businesses, so anything by Michael Lewis and “The Zeroes” by Randall Lane read wonderfully and work as great cautionary tales on what not to do.
Most Influential Person
My most influential person is my girlfriend Teresa Rhyne. Even though she’s not financially tied to any of my businesses nor I to hers (we find it’s better for our relationship that way), she is my best friend, my sounding board, my idea generating machine, my therapist, my consultant, and basically the person who keeps me grounded and constantly thinking and analyzing when I get new, crazy ideas that I want to pursue. It sounds so trite to say that she is the yin to my yang or that she completes me, but in many ways, our personalities and mindsets are so contrasting that we end up being exceptionally helpful to each other and providing each other with insight and guidance that we might not have gleaned from our own perspectives.
You can find Chris Kern at his favorite grape fields or ASK CHRIS.
Links
1. Pasos Best Wines = Pasosbestwines.com
2. Ask Chris = [email protected]
3. Forgotten Grapes = ForgottenGrapes.com