Emily Zegar
Director of Sales - Western Division & Export
Born and raised in the Willamette Valley, I grew up on the same volcanic soils that make Oregon ideal for growing Pinot Noir. Wine grabbed my attention and curiosity at a very young age, and my career in the wine industry began at Sokol Blosser Winery in May of 2012. My experience working for one of Oregon’ s pioneering wine families catapulted me across the world.
In January 2015, I moved to Adelaide, South Australia to earn my Masters in Wine Business from the University of Adelaide. During my time in South Australia, I gained experience working in the tasting room for Penfolds at their Magill Estate and was a part of the sales team at East End Cellars, a wine bar and specialty bottle shop in Adelaide’ s city center. I later transitioned to work for Aus Wine Craft, an Australian based import-export and distribution company as their Marketing and Sales Assistant. In addition to my Masters coursework, I earned my WSET Level II Award in Wines & Spirits.
At the end of my Masters coursework, I moved to Hong Kong to gain experience in the Asian wine industry. While writing my thesis on Asian wine consumption habits, I interned with The Flying Winemaker as the company’ s Marketing and Operations Intern. My internship responsibilities included sourcing and importing wines from across Asia and creating educational content on Asian wine regions for the second edition of the Asian Wine Review publication. While in Hong Kong, I earned my WSET Level III Award in Wines & Spirits. I completed my Masters in Wine Business with high marks in September 2016.
In October 2016, I was one of two U.S. candidates selected by Pernod Ricard Winemakers as a Wine Ambassador and experienced an intensive six-month training program. I underwent wine business induction at Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ headquarters in Sydney, Australia and traveled internationally to gain handson viticulture and viniculture training in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, Spain, Sonoma and Napa, California, Barossa, Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale, Australia and Marlborough, New Zealand. As Wine Ambassador I represented Pernod Ricard’ s wine and champagne portfolio as its lead wine educator and brand expert across the American south and southwest. After a year and a half in the role, I was promoted to Market Manager for the state of Colorado. In this role, I was responsible for managing the growth and development of Pernod Ricard’ s wine and champagne portfolio across the state of Colorado.
In October 2019 I returned home to my roots in Oregon and rejoined the Sokol Blosser Winery team as Northwest Sales, Export Sales and Brand Manager. In September 2021 I was promoted to Director of Sales for the West and Export, my current role with the company, and manage 11 domestic markets with 16 distributor partners and 17 export markets with 20 import partners.
I have continued to pursue wine industry qualifications and in October 2017 I earned my introductory recognition with the Court of Master Sommeliers. In April of 2018 I earned the title of Nominated Educator with the WSET as a qualified educator. I was a recipient of SommCon’ s Young Leadership scholarship and attended its November 2018 conference in San Diego. In June 2019 I was awarded the Women of the Vine’ s Member Spotlight feature. I am currently finishing my WSET Diploma and will sit my final exam in October 2022.
I am an instructor at the Wine & Spirits Archive wine school in Portland, Oregon and deliver WSET coursework along with wine classes and tastings. I am a member of Oregon’ s Women in Wine and am participating in the organization’ s mentorship program through which I am being mentored and also mentoring.
When I’ m not working, reading about, or studying wine, you can find me out in nature hiking, on a run or practicing yoga. I am currently studying French and take lessons at the Alliance Française in Portland, Oregon. I am an avid traveler who loves exploring the world through new cultures, cuisine and of course, wine.