Curated Selections - Curated Selections

Fine Wine Distributors | South Carolina

You wouldn’t look to a fishmonger for stock tips, or to a stockbroker for seafood, so why would you go to anyone but a sommelier for wine? At Curated Selections, wine is what we love, what we drink, and what we’ve spent our lifetimes trying to understand. So when we combined efforts to showcase a stunning portfolio in which each individual offering shines as bright as the collective, we agreed upon only one thing: Above all else, wine.

As a team of South Carolina-based sommeliers, we’ve had the privilege of buying and selling wine for over 80 combined years, and our deep understanding of what wine buyers need to make their programs successful is part of our DNA. Only wines that meet our scrupulous standards while also providing unsurpassed value in their category make their way into our portfolio and then on to your lists or shelves.

Additionally, we truly understand what exemplary service means to the buyer and leave no detail untouched. We are thoughtful in our approach in every aspect with the goal of showing the proper respect not only to our buyers and their patrons but also to our producers and importers. This is a community and with a goal of working towards the common good, we all succeed.

“Wine, today as yesterday and tomorrow, continues to symbolize dual communion: on the one hand with nature and the soil, through the mystery of plant growth and the miracle of fermentation, and on the other with man, who wanted wine and was able to make it by means of knowledge, hard work, patience, care and love; for nothing worthwhile is achieved without love.”

-Emile Peynaud

The wine’s quality must out-perform its price point.

The wine must be consistent with the style of the varietal and region that it is attempting to express.

The “package” must live up to the quality of the wine.

We must like the wine – we are a sommelier-driven wine distribution company that doesn’t compromise our standards and reputation.

“Wine is bottled poetry”

-Robert Louis Stevenson

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.”

-Ernest Hemingway

Patrick Emerson

Advanced Sommelier
Partner | Sales Director
South Carolina

843.830.1254

An Englishman by birth, Advanced Somm Patrick Emerson grew up making elderberry/apple wine with his Mom, brewing ale with his Dad and drinking cheap Bordeaux with his mates at an early age. A renaissance man who was once bitten by the Thespian bug that led to many hours of working behind the stick in Cape Town, New York and LA at all hours of the night, Patrick finally saw the light and traded in his greasepaint and tap shoes for that of Wine Warrior. He now thrives by pursuing his passion of the vine (more practical than treading the boards for his family) and has enjoyed fine vino for over 20 years. Favorite regions include Burgundy, Champagne, Jura, and Piedmont.

Mal Jones

Certified Sommelier
Partner | Sales
Greater Charleston Area

843.568.9930

Mal caught the wine bug while working for Trevi Italian restaurant in Asheville NC in 1999. For the past 15 years he has worked for numerous distribution houses focusing on sales and education. In 2003 he moved to Charleston SC to further pursue a career selling wine in the south’s most progressive food and beverage culture. He is a Certified Sommelier and holds the Advanced Certificate from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust.

Lauren Andree

Sales
Greenville / Upstate

864.363.5925

Born and raised in Northern Illinois, Lauren moved to Greenville in 2014 for a change of pace and warmer weather. She has spent over 10 years dedicated to food and beverage industry focusing on customer relations and in her journey developed a passion for wine. Understanding the complexities of wine and its place throughout history sparked her desire to pursue her level one with future hopes to become a Master Sommelier. She is looking forward to further expanding her expertise and sharing the culture, art and history of wine.

Dani Young

Sales
Greater Charleston Area

864.449.5930

With a mother from Buenos Aires, Argentina, wine has always been an essential part of Dani’s life. After graduating from College of Charleston and spending several years in sales, Dani decided to give in to her passions and pursue food and beverage as a career rather than just a hobby.

Moving from Charleston to Miami in the fall of 2016, Dani immediately immersed herself in the wine world. She was fortunate enough to become part of the Starr Restaurant Group Management team and assisted in the opening of Upland Miami. Following her time with Starr, she moved to the Northeast where she spent several years in a buying position at 167 Raw Nantucket. Dani couldn’t stay away from Charleston for too long and returned in 2019, joining Curated Selections in January of that year.

Lucy Mayo

Sales
Hilton Head

252.469.5330

Being the child of an opera singer & an artist, Lucy grew up appreciating talent. That is what she loves about the wineries & winemakers we represent: their talent, dedication, & art.

Lucy’s first experience with food & wine was working for Daniel Boulud at age 18 while attending art school in New York City. She then moved to California and continued working in fine dining for French chef Pascal Olhats where she became an advocate for California wines and enjoys helping change people’s views through tasting wines that go against the stigmas they often have. She later moved to South Carolina to be closer to family and joyously made the decision to join Team Curated in January 2020.

Alexandra Shertzer

Sales
Columbia

803.318.4620

Having spent most of her childhood in Columbia, SC, Alexandra considers herself a native of the area. Born into an internationally blended family, she grew up with a love of travel and the traditions that make each culture unique. Through her family’s Pisco production she was also exposed to the grape from a young age. Falling in love with wine came from an unexpected place, though. The art and history of textiles was her gateway—first studying the traditions of her heritage in Peru and Switzerland, then running a business in antique Turkish rugs. The utter uniqueness of each handmade piece, centuries of tradition, and expression of place were fascinating. As she discovered those storytelling characteristics in the culture of wine, too, she was hooked. Alexandra is thrilled to begin her career in wine on the Curated team and is looking forward to expanding her knowledge and sharing it with others.

Tim Judge

Portfolio / Operations Manager

718.664.8043

Tim is a Long Island native and began his career in New England and New York. Tim was a wine and spirits broker in New Hampshire and Maine before an opportunity to work with Rob Newton at Nightingale Nine and Seersucker took him to New York, where he led the restaurant’s service team to a Michelin Bib Gourmand award. Tim also helped open and guide The Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club to “Best New Bar in New York City” award from Thrillist Magazine. Here in Charleston Tim has held roles as the Food and Beverage Director at the Vendue Hotel and Management roles with Zero George Hotel and Cannon Green Restaurant under the Easton Porter Group. At Curated, Tim keeps all the wheels moving by making sure the right wines from the right suppliers make it to the right accounts!

Palmer Jacobus

Operations

678.438.6382

Palmer grew up in the Atlanta area and attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston. It was during his time there he fell in love with the city. After getting married, Palmer and his wife relocated back to Charleston and now call it home. After 18 years of a progressive culinary career, Palmer was looking for more of a work-life balance. He wants to contribute his culinary experience with the team by assisting in pairings of wine and food. Palmer is looking forward to
expanding his knowledge of all aspects of wine and wine distribution/production.

Tripti Simback

Certified Sommelier
Partner | Operations

Tripti Simback first had her taste of wine at the age of 6 when she stole a bottle from her dad’s liquor stash- it was a screw top, sweet, ‘Madeira’ style Indian wine. It was probably the start of her wine adventures – she has since travelled to several wine regions around the world, including to the remote town of Tokaji in Hungary, worked a harvest in Oregon, worked at wine store in Manhattan, launched a wine distribution company in North Carolina with her husband, has a WSET Advanced certification, is a Certified Sommelier and is currently studying for the Advanced. She also has an MBA in Supply Chain Mgmt, that comes in handy these days in the logistics of ordering wine. When not doing anything wine related, she can found at the movie theaters or checking out the art galleries in Charleston or trying to finish Marcel Proust’s “Remembrance of Things Past”.

Kevin Simback

Certified Sommelier
Partner | Finance

Kevin is an experienced business executive and entrepreneur, but spends most of his free time obsessing over wines from Burgundy and Piedmont. Kevin began his career in technology and later became a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. before going back to technology in a variety of leadership roles. Along the way, he caught the wine bug and has been obsessed ever since. He has since helped start several wine companies, including Vino Mondo, Curated Selections, Charleston Wine Vault and Isocline Ventures and he writes a wine industry blog called Wines & Dimes. Kevin is a Certified Sommelier, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder and has an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.