29 years old • Timnath
Manager and beverage director, sommelier (level two) at The Cache at Ginger and Baker
What’s your occupation? Explain your career, accomplishments and professional highlights.
I started studying wine in 2019 and became a certified sommelier (level two) in 2023. Since then, four of my servers have earned their level one, and another is studying now. These tests have very low pass rates, and they increase dramatically in difficulty at each step. I have earned the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence multiple times and have hosted several successful wine events. I am looking forward to making NOCO a wine destination with knowledgeable staff and an amazing wine list.
Tell us about yourself, your history and how you came to be where you are now.
My path into the world of wine is anything but ordinary. I’m a small-town Wyoming kid who started out of high school in the oil field, joined the U.S. Army and then went back to the oil field. I was very unhappy. I always heard you should do what you love and it won’t feel like work. I liked hanging out at the bar with my friends, so I decided to quit my lucrative oil job to become a bartender. I moved to Fort Collins and started hosting at Bonefish Grill in Johnstown. Soon after, I fell in love with wine and wanted to become an expert.
Tell us something unique about you.
I was a tanker in the U.S. Army, and I was pretty darn good at it. I was awarded “top tank of the battalion,” shooting a 982/1000 at gunnery 2-70AR. I almost died while driving a semi-truck down a mountain in the oil field after losing my brakes and being forced to jump out going 40 mph on a 15 percent grade dirt road.
What do you consider your biggest accomplishment or challenge you’ve overcome, either professionally or personally?
Most definitely passing the certified sommelier exam. It isn’t just wine; it also includes all spirits, sake, beer, restaurant service and history. You have to study in more than 10 languages. The exam is three parts: service, tasting and theory. Personally, my biggest accomplishment is marrying my beautiful wife.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In 10 years?
In the next few years, I see myself continuing to build the wine business at Ginger and Baker. Big picture, I will stay in the beverage business. I have a dream of opening a social club in downtown Fort Collins with fine wine, cigars, sports, whiskey and tequila.
What piece(s) of advice would you give to your younger self?
Listen to that little voice in your head tempting you into the uncertain. If you are chasing your dreams, you may not get exactly what you envisioned, but you will most certainly be on the right path.
Why did you choose wine as opposed to beer, spirits, etc?
After I made the decision to quit the oil field and started serving tables, my manager told me that I had to start learning about wine if I wanted to be a good server. Before that moment, I had never tried any wine that wasn’t out of a box. One day, I was sitting at a wine bar at Denver International Airport, and they had Silver Oak Napa Cab by the glass for $45. I had never had any wine that expensive, so I got it and said to myself, “There is no way this can be any better than the $15 bottles of wine I’ve been trying.” Boy was I wrong. The bartender asked, “How’s the wine?” to which I responded how awesome I thought it was. “The owner of the winery is sitting right next to you,” he said. Indeed, I was sitting next to Sally Duncan of Silver Oak Cellars. After that moment, I was dead set on learning and exploring the world of wine as much as I could.
What do you think it takes to be a good sommelier?
You have to really be passionate about wine. The pursuit of knowledge in the wine world is truly endless; the more you learn, the more you realize how much there is still to learn. Beyond the passion, a good sommelier is not only a student but also a teacher. The entire point of your studies is to share the knowledge with your guests and staff. There is a debate in the wine community of the definition of a sommelier, but I subscribe to this version: “A restaurant employee who orders and maintains the wines sold in the restaurant and usually has extensive knowledge about wine and food pairings.” I don’t know of another restaurant in the area with a sommelier. Not only am I certified, but Ginger and Baker will soon have three or four more certified sommeliers under one roof because of one kid from Wyoming following his heart.
How do you think your experience in the military and as an oil field worker has helped you as a sommelier?
You must be disciplined in your studying and tasting as a sommelier, and being in the Army will make you as disciplined a person as you’ll ever be. In the Army and the oil field, you are often in high-pressure situations, and being in those situations makes being in the occasional chaos of a restaurant much more manageable.
