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
Parter | Sales Director
South Carolina

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
Parter | Sales
Greater Charleston Area

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

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.

James Alford

Sales
Columbia / Aiken

James was born and raised in the Midlands, where he now lives with his wife and daughter. After spending an extravagant amount of other people’s money on a liberal arts education, he discovered a knack for articulating what makes wine wonderful, and decided that was for him. He has visited vineyards in several different countries, and is most interested in wine as a means of storytelling, but will also just drink it if you twist his arm.

Tim Judge

Portfolio / Operations Manager

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!

Dan Wilson

Operations

Dan grew up in Columbia, S.C. In his early 20s, he left to pursue a career as a fine artist and illustrator in the North East, where he was hired as a freelance artist for the Franklin and Danbury Mints. Over the next 30 years, Dan executed numerous private oil commissions, did commemorative work, and illustrated many books under his pen name, Danner James. In that time, Dan also developed a keen interest in horticulture; especially the organic methods. It is from this interest, that Dan became interested in learning more about wine, grapes and the original growing practices still used in many parts of the world. Though art is still a major part of his life, Dan now takes only a select few commissions annually, allowing him more time with his wife and daughter, and to grow in his knowledge of wine and its rich history.

Sam Cooper

Certified Sommelier
Sales | Charleston

Sam Cooper was born in Atlanta, Georgia and after bouncing around the globe, living in the Netherlands Antilles, Brisbane Australia, and both coasts of the US, he found himself at College of Charleston. Studying Music Theory there, he had the opportunity to compose music for plays and TV pilots, later receiving two commissions from the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. After spending ten years in the restaurant industry and seven as a music instructor, he had the opportunity to combine his passion for history, education, and travel as a student of wine culture at Curated Selections. Sam is a Certified Sommelier and recipient of the Walter Clore scholarship from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Palmer Jacobus

Operations

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 at Nortel Networks and later became a management consultant with McKinsey & Co. before joining IBM in a variety of strategy and operations 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.