Blog Posts matching STAFF:Congratulations, Justine! Thursday, May 27th 2010 by
Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager
Congratulations are in order for our team member Justine Pillar, who will be graduating this weekend with a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon! Your hard work has paid off and we're so proud of your accomplishment.
All that work for a burrito... the SB staff took Justine out to lunch to celebrate her accomplishment. 
Click Here to ReTweet This! The People Behind the Pinot - Melissa Griffin Tuesday, August 3rd 2010 by
Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager
Some of the most common questions our staff are asked are related to who is behind making Sokol Blosser run the way it does. The answer is - all of us! From the winemaking team to the vineyard crew, from accounting to marketing, we have an amazing team here at SB that we are incredibly proud of.
We're starting a mini-blog series over the next few months called The People Behind the Pinot. We asked our staff to give us a short bio of themselves and answer five questions to tell us a little more about themselves. We're beginning this series with one of the smiling faces that you'll see in our Tasting Room when you stop by - Melissa Griffin.
 Melissa Griffin - Tasting Room Sales Associate
Bio: I was born in Nurnberg, Germany and raised Northern California. Growing up in Northern California I was exposed to vineyards at an early age and I was always been captivated by the romance of the vineyards. When I was growing up my dad would take me fishing at the ponds in the middle of the local vineyards, I would get bored and would run and play in-between the rows of vines and pretend that I was a princess in her royal vineyard. Now I am all grown up (kind of!), attending Linfield College and I will graduate with a B.S. in Business Management in the spring of 2011. I am still enchanted by the romance of the vineyard. I feel so blessed to be able to work at this beautiful winery and to experience all that it has to offer. When I see the beautiful green rows of vines on the hills outside the tasting room I still feel the urge to go run and play and pretend I am a princess. Hobbies: Reading, Homework (one more year left!), Skydiving, Camping, and any sort of crazy Shenanigans.
What You Like About Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir is like comfort food to me. Living in the Northwest we experience a lot of rainy days, and my favorite thing to do on a rainy day is curl up with a good book and a good bottle of Pinot Noir. Favorite Food:Mac & Cheese!My mom’s homemade recipe is the best. Place You’d Like To Travel To: Germany, Guam, Spain, Thailand… Favorite Drink Besides Wine: It’s between a good IPA and tequila. You can read more about our fun and talented staff on our website's Staff Page!
Labels: staff
Click Here to ReTweet This! The People Behind the Pinot - Lauren Kanikeberg Thursday, August 19th 2010 by
Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager
Welcome to our second installment of The People Behind the Pinot! Today we're featuring our Executive Assistant and HR Coordinator, Lauren Kanikeberg. Lauren has been with Sokol Blosser for over 3 years, and does everything from coordinating travel plans to haggling for better benefits for employees here at SB. Everyone appreciates Lauren's good nature, supportive attitude, and her amazingly delicious home brews that she shares with us on special occasions. Meet Lauren!
Lauren Kanikeberg - Executive Assistant & HR Coordinator
 Bio: I graduated from the University of Portland in May 2007 with a BA in Spanish. A month before graduation, I attended a job fair hosted by UP, anxious to find something to do with myself post-graduation. At the job fair, I focused on organizations that I thought would allow me to use Spanish, but none of them seemed like a good fit. I remember leaving the job fair and sitting on a bench in the hall, totally annoyed and discouraged that I had spent $5 on an attendance fee and printed a zillion resumes, but hadn’t handed them out to anyone. Being the financially-challenged college student that I was, I decided, “I spent a whole $5 on this! I’m not leaving without handing out at least one resume!” so I looked at the list of organizations present and told myself to just pick one that interested me. Having fallen in love with wine during the 6 months I spent studying in Spain, Sokol Blosser instantly intrigued me, and everything fell into place from there. I worked in the tasting room all summer, was hired for the position of Executive Assistant & HR Coordinator in October, and am extremely happy to be here! Every now and then, things just seem to work out how they’re supposed to. The verdict on life after college is: so far, so good!
Hobbies: Anything outside (camping, hiking, biking, etc.), reading, travel, photography, exploring Portland and all it has to offer, and spending time with my friends.
What you like about Pinot Noir: It has so many subtle nuances, and every Pinot is unique! It amazes me what flavors and aromas one can detect within a glass.
Favorite Food: Anything grilled. Gotta love the BBQ!
Place You’d Like to Travel To: Argentina is number one on my list at the moment, but Australia and Thailand are close seconds. I’d also like to go back to Spain, and then lots of other places…
Favorite Drink Besides Wine: My friends and I are really into exploring Portland’s awesome brewery scene, so I am definitely a fan of good beer. I also enjoy tequila. I do like beverages that aren’t fermented or distilled, however, and those include water, hot cocoa, chocolate milk, and chai tea.
Labels: staff
Click Here to ReTweet This! Welcome Zuriel! Wednesday, June 1st 2011 by
Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager
We would like to welcome Zuriel to the Sokol Blosser team! Below is a little more about Zuriel. Be sure to say hi to him if you see him around the winery.
 Bio: I was born and raised in beautiful Juneau, Alaska. Growing up I was not exposed to many farms or vineyards until I moved to Oregon. I graduated from the University of Oregon and received a B.A. in Digital Arts and minored in Communications and Business. After graduation I traveled between Alaska and Europe but my heart was left in Oregon. I moved to Portland and started to work at a fine dining establishment where I began to gain a strong interest in wine and food. An opportunity arose here at Sokol Blosser where I now have the pleasure of being called “The New Guy.”
Hobbies: Mountain biking, snowboarding, surfing, rock climbing, motorcycling, camping, running, hiking, photography, traveling, reading and nerding out on the computer. What you like about Pinot Noir: What I enjoy about pinot noir is that it is great by itself or pairing it with some of my favorite food. Favorite Food: I’ll eat just about anything. I love food. Place you’d like to travel to: Anywhere.I love traveling but if I had to pick one right now it would be Tibet. Hiking around the mountains and visiting ancient temples would be a dream come true. Favorite drink besides wine: An ice cold Coke in a glass bottle made with real sugar is always delicious.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Manucy Triplets Thursday, December 29th 2011 by
Kitri McGuire, Marketing Communications Manager
"Our boys are one week old and doing very well. They are making progress every day and fighting to come home. Oliver Benton is the biggest, not surprising since he was the "recipient" twin and has always made his presence known- loved having his photo taken and was the most aggressive mover. He is breathing on his own, eating all meals from a bottle and was transferred yesterday to the progressive unit. He should be joining Nora at home next week. William James (Will) is a few days behind Oliver in everything, which is exactly how they measured in utero. Will is by far the most laid back and easy going. He was our "innocent bystander". He also looks the most like Nora.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Ode to Rosé Monday, February 20th 2012 by
Lisa Randall, Accounting
Click Here to ReTweet This! Andre The Dog is Back! Tuesday, March 27th 2012 by
Elise Kubisak, Tasting Room Sales Associate
Since I’m considered a ‘newbie’ in the realm of Sokol Blosser-dom (I’ve only been here since September 2011… some rock stars in the office have been here for 15 years), I’ve consulted a few of the winery veterans for a little Andre history: Name: Andre (aka. El Bandito – Andre with gusto and speed use to swipe any and all food lying around earning the name ‘The Bandit’) Nickname: Boo Age: 14 human years (98 doggie years!) but came to Sokol Blosser when we was just a wee pup. Basically what it comes down to is this: whether you are new to Andre or not, it’s hard to resist his playful yet copasetic lab temperament and sweet, sweet smile. Yep, we are all excited to have Andre back. For more profile information on Andre (and Twix too) check out the Wine Dogs USA 2 Book http://www.winedogs.com/p-34-wine-dogs-usa-2.aspx
Click Here to ReTweet This! A Brunch-y Toast Monday, April 16th 2012 by
Elise Kubisak, Tasting Room Sales Associate
A new tradition has begun between good friends who love good food. That is good food that we good friends like to cook together, everything from scratch, with ingredients we mostly happen to have in our respective pantries. I can’t think of a better thing to do on a lazy Sunday morning (okay… afternoon, I definitely sleep in on Sunday). The meal usually takes at least two hours to make, but packed in those two hours are culinary lessons, laughter and a respectable Mimosa or Bloody Mary… or two. This past Sunday the theme was set for biscuits and gravy. I love these gatherings for several reasons but one reason is that I always learn something. This Sunday, while I did learn to make biscuits (buttery, flakey biscuits that acted as a wonderful pillow to homemade sausage gravy) the true lesson was in taking off the culinary safety ‘floaties’ and jumping into the pool when inspiration strikes. For example, we had a combination of ingredients we all collectively brought including a pommelo, honey grapefruit and asparagus spears that we wanted to serve on the side but weren’t sure quite how. That’s when I realized the beauty in culinary experimentation. Chef Mary ended up adding asiago cheese with the above ingredients to create a salad that was surprisingly refreshing, savory, tangy and simply delicious. What’s better is that I had brought a bottle of Sokol Blosser 2011 Estate Rose of Pinot Noir. The rhubarb, watermelon and grapefruit characteristics were a great counterpoint to the heavy biscuits and gravy and even stood up beautifully to the asparagus salad. This past Sunday was definitely a lesson in more ways than one: take that lazy Sunday morning and turn it into a culinary dream fest to share with friends as a chance to experiment and have a few laughs while you're at it. What else will you be doing these rainy spring Sundays while you’re waiting for the sun to come out? I lift my glass of Estate Rose to you! A toast to good friends, good food and good wine!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Operations Team Luncheon Friday, April 20th 2012 by
Lisa Randall, Accounting
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We are proud, excited, and happy to announce that our Eastern Brand Ambassador Sara Manucy and her husband Matt welcomed 3 healthy baby boys into the world on December 21, 2011. Here is the update from Sara on her triplets. Congratulations, Manucy family: Sara, Matt, big sister Nora and now Oliver, Will & Luke!
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
Andre the yellow lab is back! Some of us at the winery are
fairly new and are meeting Andre for the first time but most of us at Sokol
Blosser are welcoming him back with big open arms. Either way, you can feel the excitement of
having our ol’ pal frolic (albeit slowly and cautiously) at the winery again
and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. Twix the standard poodle now has a canine
friend, the cats now have another ‘pest’ chasing them and we have a loveable,
smiley dog to pet and greet us. (Seriously, since I’ve met him it seems like
Andre is smiling ALL the time! It’s awesome!). 
The Operations Team
took a trip 
