About
Meet Jeff, the wine guy next door
A West Michigan wine expert with decades in the beverage business, and a knack for making it make sense.
The story
Decades behind the bottle, not behind a velvet rope
Jeff has worked just about every side of the beverage business: the retail floor, distribution and online wine sales, restaurant tastings, video reviews, and radio. That range lets him help a curious beginner pick a Tuesday-night bottle, and help a small producer figure out how to get onto that shelf in the first place.
His approach hasn’t changed: skip the pretension, taste honestly, and explain why. Why this wine fits your dinner. Why that beer is worth the extra dollar. Why a distributor will — or won’t — take a meeting.
Today Jeff is based in West Michigan, serving Muskegon, Grand Haven and the surrounding lakeshore communities, and consulting with beverage brands nationwide.
Decades
In the beverage trade
67+
Video reviews & tastings
3
Categories: wine, beer, spirits
On air
“The Wine Guy,” WGHN
Professional background
Every side of the business
Understanding how a bottle moves from producer to distributor to shelf to table is what makes the advice practical. That’s true whether you’re buying the bottle or selling it.
Retail
On the sales floor
Years of helping everyday shoppers find the right bottle for the right occasion and budget. That’s where the “straight answers” style started.
Distribution & online sales
Inside the distribution tier
Work with fine-wine distribution and online wine sales, including FineWineDiscounts. He learned what distributors look for, and how brands earn a spot in a portfolio.
Video & restaurants
Bottled Grapes
A long-running video series of bottle reviews and on-location tastings with restaurant partners like Caro Mio and Southport & Irving.
Radio
“The Wine Guy” on WGHN
Regular on-air segments on WGHN in Grand Haven: wine picks, food pairings and live in-studio tastings for lakeshore listeners.
Today
Straight from the Bottle & Krunch Branding
Consumer advice and pairing events under one name, and hands-on marketing and market-access help for beverage producers under the other.
International perspective
A world of bottles, explained simply
Jeff has tasted, sold and reviewed wines from across the globe, so he can tell you how an Argentine Malbec, a Spanish Rioja and a Michigan Riesling really compare.
France
Southern Rhône reds and white Rhône blends.
Italy & Spain
Super Tuscans, Rioja, Prosecco and Spanish values.
South America
Argentina’s Selene Vineyard and more.
Close to home
Michigan craft beer, wine and spirits.
How it fits together
One expert, two brands
Straight from the Bottle
The voice and the expertise: bottle reviews, pairing advice, industry commentary, and tasting events for drinkers of every level.
Krunch Branding
The business-services arm: marketing, distributor introductions and retail strategy for small beverage producers across the U.S.
Rod J BeerVentures
Contributor · Craft beer
Straight from the Bottle also features contributor Rod J BeerVentures, whose Craft Beers Gone Wild sessions cover the craft beer side of the glass.
Behind the scenes
At the table, on camera, on the air
Let’s find what fits
Whether it’s a bottle, an event or a brand, tell Jeff what you’re working on.