Mission Statement

To identify, gather and sell exceptional hand-crafted wines produced by artisan winemakers from around the world, in the service of enchanting the palate, delighting the mind, and supporting a living tradition that spans both time and cultures.
To operate our business in a way that achieves sustainable profitability, in order to continue our support of artisan winemakers and to nurture the professional growth of all who collaborate in our endeavour.
To share knowledge and passion at every opportunity in order to enhance our customers wine experience.
To distill the essence and convey the merit of each of our wines in language that is clearly understood by our customers.
To maximize value for our customers in appreciation of their business.
To have fun with wine in the hope that our customers will do the same.

KEN COLLURA

Ken Collura, a native of Greenwich Village in New York CIty, is the Wine Director at The Pearl Wine Shop and andina Restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Both roles allow Collura to educate guests about boutique wineries from around the world, offering intimate wine education classes and weekly tastings in the adjacent wine shop. His philosophy on wine is that it does not have to be expensive, elite or difficult to understand. It should be an integral part of every evening's meal.

Previously Ken was the Head Sommelier for more than eight years at Bern's Steak House in Tampa, FL., the 50-year-old standalone restaurant internationally recognized as having the world's largest wine list. While at Bern's Steak House, Ken expanded and updated its 6,500-label, 500,000-bottle wine list and supervised a 10-steward wine station. He most recently served as Wine Director/Sommelier at El Monte Segrado Resort and Spa in Taos, New Mexico. El Monte is a two-year-old Eco-Resort in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and Collura's wine list there has won a 2005 Best of Award of Excellence from the Wine Spector, only the third restaurant in the state of New Mexico so honored.

He is also a commentator and journalist, writing the nationally syndicated wine column "Winespeak" for The Tampa Tribune , The Richmond Time Dispatch and about a dozen other newspapers under the Media General umbrella.

Before assuming the Head Sommelier position at Bern's Steak House, Ken was a wine consultant to ABC Fine Wines and Spirits in Florida, the largest privately owned wine and spirits company in the US. He has created wine lists for a variety of restaurants with very diverse culinary focuses, including French/Asian, Northern Italian, French Bistro, Mediterranean and Continental cuisine.

During a 14-year tenure at Time Magazine, where he served as a computer graphic artist, Ken traveled extensively throughout the wine producing regions of Australia, Austria, France, Germany, New Zealand, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, even living in France for some time. Eventually, his passion for wine wone out and he left Time to pursue a serious career in the wine trade.

As a native New Yorker, Ken's passion for jazz comes from his childhood, where he grew up surrounded by many of the jazz greats. He has been an active jazz disc jokey for 15 years. He began to learn about wine at a young age as well. He was the oldest son of the second-generation Sicilians. His paternal grandfather had Zinfandel grapes delivered to his doorstep, where he made them into wine with a wooden press in the basement. Italian was spoken at home, and wine was always served at dinner.