Our mission
Drink well
Our collection of wines and sake are not only delicious (and award-winning) but represent a story from the beautiful places and incredible families they come from. We know how hard it is to navigate the good and the bad, what's authentic or just mass produced. We've made buying premium, authentic and undiscovered bottles hassle free. Expand your world and drink well.
Travel well
We’ve been traveling to Argentina, Chile and Japan for 20 years. We get asked all the time for recommendations and advice on how to travel to these destination. While these countries are on a lot of people's bucket lists, it can be daunting to navigate on your own, so we’ve curated the perfect bucket-list travel experience for you. All of our adventures center of immersing our guests in the culture, food, and drinks of their destination.
The team
Elizabeth butler
South American Travel Extraordinaire
Elizabeth has lived and worked with wine on both sides of the Andes, beginning with the Catena Zapata winery in Mendoza followed by Viña Mayu in Chile. She has been leading trips to South America for over 6 years with Vine Connections, a leading importer of fine South American wine. Her trips to Argentina and Chile have become renowned throughout the US wine trade.
Her genuine passion for South American wine and culture is evident from the moment you meet her. She’s a foodie, fluent in Spanish, a trail runner, and has cultivated deep relationships with the winemakers and local purveyors. Originally from Boston, she now lives in Sausalito, California.
Follow her on Instagram (@withtwoforks) to see her epic travels. You’ll see her latest domestic adventure with family in Maine!
Monica Samuels
Sake Samurai (Literally, it’s a thing.)
Monica Samuels is the Director of Sake & Spirits for Vine Connections, an importer of Japanese sake. Monica has worked in the sake business for over ten years, at the restaurant, distributor, and importer level.
Monica grew up bilingual and bi-cultural, spending every summer in Tokyo with her grandparents. With a grandfather who was a sake brewer Monica has been around sake from a young age, but the turning point was working for the Japanese-Peruvian-Brazilian inspired SushiSamba, her first job after moving to NYC.
Monica’s insane love for eating, drinking, and meeting new people match perfectly with the demands of her travel schedule. When at home in NYC she loves cooking, yoga, and making people laugh.
Follow her sake adventures on Instagram (@msamuels1212)
Valeria Guarnieri
Our Girl on the Ground, and favorite Argentine.
Valeria’s work with Pourtal combines her vast experience as a designer and artist, an undeniable understanding of her home country of Argentina, and originality in planning and coordinating groups of people. Day-to-day, Valeria works as a designer, primarily designing wine labels.
Valeria’s passion for the wine industry, as well as her passion for life, make her the ideal tour guide for our Pourtal trips! Some of our trip attendees' highlights were V's painting class among the vines.
See her beautiful art and passion for life on her Instagram (@luckyladyargentina)