THE TEAM
A SALES-BASED APPROACH
ROOTED IN EXPERIENCE
Jason Kroot
President & Co-Founder | Email Jason
Jason lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Danielle, their dog AJ and one year old son, Cooper. He grew up in Southern Maine before attending Bentley University and graduating in 2009. His post college years were spent in and around the Boston area where he began his sales career selling women’s reversible tapestry jackets. It was while living in the city of Boston that he took up running and set out to run one marathon for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge. Today he has run 11 Boston Marathons and walked many more with “Team Kroot” collectively raising over $700,000 for cancer research. It was on that charity team that he met his wife Danielle in 2015 and they’ve continued growing that passion together through their run studio, Starting Line. When he isn’t running, he carefully times his market work in Colorado to make sure he can enjoy a few days skiing. More About Jason's Career in the Wine Business... - Jason first entered the beverage industry while merchandising for Pine State Trading in 2004. - The day he turned 21 he began a Sales internship for Shipyard Brewing Company - He spent 7 years in different roles at restaurants in Portland, ME and Waltham, MA as any beverage industry professional should! - After a brief detour into the world of reversible tapestry jacket sales, Jason began working for Pine State Trading in retail wine sales and as a pricing project analyst for Gallo. - After completing his WSET Level 3, Jason returned to live in Boston as the first Northeast Regional Manager for Wine Bridge Imports for an importer with products from Argentina, Chile, Spain and Portugal. - He joined Alcohol By Volume in 2015 to run the company’s largest volume territory and before the end of his first year with ABV, his territory had expanded to include a total of 19 states across the Northeast and Midwest. - In 2017, the Alcohol By Volume team sold the Bread & Butter brand to WX Brands and the company transitioned from ABV to Folktale Group Wine & Spirits. - From 2018 – 2021, Jason’s territory at Folktale grew to oversee a territory and team from Coast to Coast encompassing 34 states, 42 distributors and 3 regional managers. He wore many hats in this role ranging from National Sales and Brand Management to marketing support and inventory management.
Meghan Garlow
Regional Sales Manager - Tri-State | Email Meghan
Meghan lives in Newtown, Connecticut with her husband and two sweet little boys. A born New Yorker, Meghan was raised about an hour outside of NYC. After high school she studied design and graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Throughout college, Meghan spent her summers on Long Island where she discovered her love and passion for wine working at a popular vineyard in Southampton. After college she headed west. First stop was Boulder, Colorado where she spent her free time in the Rocky Mountains; Hiking, camping, skiing and loving life. Here she met her husband and they continued west landing in Los Angeles. Frequent visits to the many AVAs within California broadened her palate and wine knowledge. Meghan eventually settled back home in the big Apple where she began working for a distribution company with a territory in NYC. Over the past 12 years she has traveled the world, tasting, building relationships, and experiencing all things wine and food. She’s very excited to join the supplier side of the industry and to be partnering with her new team. More About Meghan's Career in the Wine Business... - Meghan began her career as a Special Events Director in Manhattan managing a team of 15 for corporate conferences, incentive trips and extended programs. - Her first direct role in the Wine industry was joining Opici Family Distributing in 2011 after exploring California wine country while living on the West coast. - She received the Rookie Salesperson of the Year Award in her first year at Opici. - She grew her sales in her 5th year to become part of the Million Dollar Club which she was a part of for 6 years. - Meghan received the Salesperson of the Year recognition award in 2017 - As a senior Sales representative, Meghan was selected by her peers as the President of the Salesman Club. - During her tenure at Opici, she grew her territory from $150,000 in sales to over $1.5m and earned trips traveling to Spain, Italy, New Zealand, Argentina, Scotland, California, Oregon for her excellence in Wine & Spirits sales. - In 2021, Meghan explored working for the Opici CT wholesale division learning the dynamics of a different market structure.
Emily Felt
Business Manager | Email Emily
Emily grew up in New England and now splits her time between Virginia and South Carolina.
She graduated Cum Laude with a finance degree from College of Charleston and a minor in French for Business. While at the College, she was involved in the Kappa Delta sorority, spent a summer interning in Paris and was involved in many clubs. Post college, Emily worked for a mortgage broker where she processed residential loans. 2 years working in the mortgage industry could drive one to drink, so Emily entered the wine industry (she always knew this was where she was meant to be). Emily also runs an online luxury resale business. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, hiking and going out to restaurants with her husband Mitchell who is in the US Navy.
David Roberts
Regional Sales Manager | Email David
David lives in Charleston, South Carolina. David grew up in a small coastal town in Maine, Boothbay Harbor. As a true Mainer, David became a licensed boat captain and worked many years on the water. His first experience in the industry was at the Rocktide Inn where he first developed an interest in wine. Since moving down to South Carolina, Dave has spent more time working independent retail and continuing to explore his passion for wine as a buyer within a multi-store group. Dave keeps busy by volunteering at his local church and enjoying many beach days as often as he can. (Fun Fact: In 1993 Dave was the ring bearer in Brian‘s wedding.)