Mike Stolese, Owner

Mike started VWM in 1996 with Joerg Klauck after owning several businesses of his own including Stoliz's Bar in Winooski. He also co-owns and produces Burlington Wine and Food with his wife Tracy Stolese. This annual event is held on the Burlington waterfront and is where local meets global. This is an event for wine lovers, foodies and those who are hungry for adventure. This annual event showcases hundreds of wines from all around the globe, creations from Vermont's top chefs, artisanal cheeses as well as other specialty food vendors and local jazz. His specialties lie with his sharp-witted humor and broad knowledge of fine Italian wines. He is easily spotted around town in his Jeep with Nero, his Great Dane, by his side!

mike@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x11

Drew Robinson, General Manager

As a native Vermonter with more than a decade of experience in wine, Drew Robinson has a unique and intuitive understanding of the local market.  Drew was born into a restaurant family, and grew up waiting tables and bartending, before ultimately managing restaurants in college.  After leaving college, Drew walked straight into a job in the wine business and has never looked back, devoting his entire adult life to wine.  Drew is happiest when spending time with his wife and kids, and most inspired when traveling and seeking out new vineyards and winemakers.

drew@vtwinemerchants.com
802.355.2669

OFFICE

Michelle Miller, Office Manager

Michelle joined the team in the Summer of 2010. Originally from New Hampshire, Michelle fell in love with Vermont while vacationing here and made the big move from the Big Apple. When Michelle isn't involved with the theater she enjoys expanding her palate with our fine wines! Michelle is responsible for the general well being of the behind the scenes of The Vermont Wine Merchants.

michelle@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x10

Chiara Carmolli, Office Administrator

chiara@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x15

Jennifer Clayton, Purchasing & Logistics

Jenn joined the VWM staff the Summer of 2007, only weeks after she made the trek cross-country from Southern California, where she had lived all her life. She worked in the bustling film and TV production industry, where she fell in love with images of Vermont via movies that have been filmed here. Jenn’s passion for wine stems from fond memories visiting vineyards, just miles from her house, with family and friends. Jenn brings a little California sunshine to Vermont through her enthusiasm, which is evident in her interactions with customers, suppliers and shippers.

jenn@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x13

Abby Kellie, Marketing Director

Abby is a native Vermonter and has worked in the food and wine industry her entire life, from restaurants to wine retail. She is an avid home cook, spending the majority of her time in her kitchen creating and preparing meals and pairing them with wine. She has completed the Court of Master Sommeliers Introductory Course and Examination. Abby is always looking to try new wines and believes that good wine and good food should be easy, fun, and accessible to everyone.

abby@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x14

Will Patlove, Purchasing & Receiving

Will joined the team as a driver in 2006. He took a 3 year “sabbatical” after 6 years, but came back in 2017 again as a driver. Then in 2021 he transitioned to a hybrid role in the office and the receiving docks. He is an artist, and his paintings can often be seen gracing the walls of the VWM office. He likes to cook, eat, pet his cat, and swim in the lake. He came to Vermont for college in the mid 90’s, and never left.

will@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x12

SALES TEAM

James Townsend, Burlington Area

James Townsend better known in the trade as JT, was the second employee at Vermont Wine Merchants and has worked here since 1998. Originally from Virginia, James moved to attend college and eventually landed in Burlington where he now resides with his wife and two daughters. JT manages most of our large retail accounts in the Burlington area.

jt@vtwinemerchants.com
802.373.8066

Robert Boehme, Washington County

Born in Northern California's Humboldt County, but grew up among the vineyards of Sonoma County learning to cook in some of it's best known restaurants. Spending Two years in San Francisco, honing those skills before receiving an A.O.S degree in Culinary Arts from The New England Culinary Institute in 1995. For the last 15 years Robert  has represented The Vermont Wine Merchants Company with a passion for Wine and Food and how well they fit together.  "Bier is for Drinking. Whiskey is for Sipping. Wine is for Pairing.....And Water is for Rehydrating."

robert@vtwinemerchants.com
802.355.8609

Gerd Hirschmann, Southwestern Vermont & St. Johnsbury Area

Gerd has been with VWM since the Summer of 2001. He has gathered his extensive wine knowledge over many years in the restaurant business & writes a weekly Column "Wine Experiments" in the Mt. Times in Killington. He is also known for his Tango moves and specializes in wines from Argentina. Gerd has recently earned a degree as a certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers program.

gerd@vtwinemerchants.com
802.324.9540 or 917.863.6636

Holly Kenyon, Chittenden County, Vergennes & the Islands

Holly has been with The Vermont Wine Merchants Company since 2004. The world of wine excites and interests her immensely. Working for VWM allows her to "walk the world" every day! Exploring and learning about wine, wine country, viticulture and people is fun and fascinating. The rapport Holly has built and developed with others, while absorbing and gaining knowledge about a field she is passionate about is rewarding and always an adventure. She looks forward to the days, weeks and years of sitting..., sniffing..., swirling..., sipping...and soaking up whatever she can of a fantastic glass of wine.

holly@vtwinemerchants.com
802.355.8608

Anthony Wagner, Sales Manager

Anthony grew up in the Finger Lakes region of New York. He remembers being in the car and driving passed many Vineyards as a kid and stopping along the way for those wicked sweet concord grape pies, a prelude to the future. He has always been around the foodservice industry in some capacity. Receiving both an Associates degree in Foodservice/Restaurant management and Bachelor’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology. He worked all throughout college at the greatest grocery store on earth, Wegmans! Moving to Vermont after College in the late 90’s is where Anthony was first bit by the Wine bug working at a local gourmet food and wine shop. From there it has been a passion that hasn’t stopped. He moved back to Western NY for a few years but Vermont was calling his name. It has now been almost 11 years since and deep in the Wine industry for the past 9 years. “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death”.

anthony@vtwinemerchants.com
802.363.8558

Dave Cote, Northern Vermont

Dave comes to us with a varied background and knowledge base. He holds a bachelors degree in Adventure Education, and an associates in automotive technology. He has worked as a dealership mechanic, an Alaskan Guide, a corrections officer, and finally landed in the world of wine 5 years ago while living in Juneau, AK. Originally from Massachusetts, he moved to Vermont in October of 2012 with his wife Liz and bought a house way up in the woods of Waterville, VT. Dave enjoys the simple life, gardening, raising chickens, felling timber and basically any excuse for hard labor outside! For fun, Dave tends to get lost in the woods with either hiking boots, or ski's on his feet, and sometimes he even gets vertical on some rock or ice. Though whatever the day holds, Dave likes to finish it with a seasonally appropriate beverage and some good home cooking. It's a wide world of wine out there, so let the adventure begin!

dave@vtwinemerchants.com
802.343.8875

Tiffany Szymaszek, Burlington, Vergennes & the Islands

Tiffany joined Vermont Wine Merchants in the fall of 2013 after spending more than a decade in the restaurant industry. Tiffany's passion for wine began at the young age of 15, when she first travelled overseas to Italy on a school trip. Immersing herself in the culture, food and imbibing wine with friends behind her teacher's back, she was hooked. Tiffany spent her early twenties waiting tables in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, reading about wine and traveling to Europe whenever she could. With this foundation, Tiffany moved to Vermont in 2005, finished college and worked in Burlington-area restaurants. Her personal preferences steer toward the weird and funky wines and adores wines from southern Rhone and Piedmont. When she is not working, Tiffany can be found scouring the state for antiques and vintage goods, going on long hikes, or throwing intimate dinner parties.

tiffany@vtwinemerchants.com
802.355.9573

Jason Dennis, Southern Vermont

Launching an extensive libation (and cheese!) career in the early 2000's, Jason has seen a lot and also continues to be ahead of the curve by navigating retail and on-premise establishments through the ebbs and tides of the turn-on-a-dime-changing beverage industry.  Years of smart managing, uber creative marketing, and honest consulting, while focusing on supporting makers has made Jason a trusted ally for optimizing any wine menu or retail selection tailored to their known and unknown needs.  His end goal is for a consumer to say “Damn that's good.” and to have them go back to that establishment, thirsty for more.  Perhaps the only thing Jason will talk more about than wine, beer, whisk(e)y, or cheese, may be the thermal spa's in Quebec. Don't miss out, ask him about anything - it all matters.

jason@vtwinemerchants.com

802.777.0517

Molly Nowak, Burlington, Middlebury

Molly grew up in the Hudson Highlands, playing in streams and swimming in the river. She discovered a passion for the environment and local agriculture that lead to a BA in Environmental Studies (with a ceramics minor) from Skidmore College.  After several years in agricultural and environmental education in Vermont, she found herself arriving in Burlington in time to help open Hen of the Wood—Burlington. Her newfound enthusiasm for the natural wine program drove her to travel, scour wine encyclopedias, and work on her Sommelier knowledge base which in turn earned her the title of wine director for the restaurant. Now, after eight years, a pandemic, and a brief stint in wine retail, she is excited to start her newest chapter with us here at Vermont Wine Merchants.

molly@vtwinemerchants.com
802.324.0450

Colin Lyons, Central Vermont

Colin began working for Vermont Wine Merchants in the warehouse in 2013. After graduating from UVM he worked in a retail wine shop in New Jersey where he took WSET courses and came to love wine through tasting frequently. In 2020 he moved to New Zealand and worked in a wine shop there, as well as a tortilla factory, returning to Vermont in 2022. He loves cooking (mostly eating), running, painting, and getting outside as much as possible.

colin@vtwinemerchants.com
732.298.4647

Justin Peregoy, Southern Vermont Sales Director

Justin joined the team in the Spring of 2023 after a long (29 years!) career in restaurants. Working in kitchens starting from a young age on the Chesapeake Bay, he has travelled the East Coast, working as a chef in restaurants as far south as Savannah, GA and as far north as Burlington, VT! His love for wine came from cooking for winemaker dinners in his 20's, where the magic of food and wine pairings created real magic. So in 2015 he left the kitchen and began working as a Sommelier in Chapel Hill, NC before moving to the North Country in search of trout and snow. Nowadays you can usually find him with his dog Django near a trout stream or with a glass of Nebbiolo in his hand (sometimes both at the same time).

justin@vtwinemerchants.com
802.355.4877

WAREHOUSE DRIVERS & STAFF

warehouse@vtwinemerchants.com
802.658.6771 x17

Erik Tidman
Warehouse Manager
erikt@vtwinemerchants.com

Steve Sharon

Brendan Collins

Jake Rifken

Pete Cernosia

Justin Burgess

Ryan Edwards

Ryan Pierce

Kennedy Swendseid

Dan Sexton