Emily brings a wealth of wine knowledge and 15 years of distributor & supplier experience to the Pinnacle Imports team.  After graduating from Mizzou with a business Management degree, she realized a corporate desk job would not suit her.  She started her career working for the largest locally-owned wholesaler in the state, as a Sales Rep on the Fine Wine team.  Here she represented many of the largest wine, beer, and spirits brands in the industry.  Her strong sales performance afforded her the opportunity to travel extensively to growing regions in California and Oregon.  

She honed her knowledge, built relationships with prominent restauranteurs and retailers, and her passion for wine education grew.  Always working to be the best resource for her customers, she has attained numerous certifications, including Certified Sommelier, CSW, CSS, Certified Cicerone, and WSET II. 

After almost 10 years on the distribution side, she was recruited by Ste Michelle Wine Estates, where she had the opportunity to visit many significant vineyards in Eastern Washington, and even work harvest on Red Mountain.  As the top sales rep in the Midwest, she was awarded with a trip to Italy to visit Tuscany, Puglia, Orvieto, Montepluciano, Bolgheri and Piedmont.  Her time spent with winemakers and viticulturalist was invaluable. 

Emily is a St. Louis native and lives in Lindenwood Park with her husband on their 'City Farm', stocked with flowers, vegetables, and chickens.  She enjoys traveling to wine regions, exploring the outdoors, listening to live music, and teaching yoga.  


Favorite wine to sell— Albert Bichot Macon Village: this Chardonnay is always a crowd-pleaser. Fragrant with beautiful floral notes, acacia, and honeysuckle, against a slightly mineral background. The palate is lively and fruity, with a refreshing finish. Rich, round, and complex. Bichot is one of the leading family-owned and operated negociant houses in Burgundy, now run by the 6th generation. They own 250+ acres of sustainably farmed vineyards divided among 6 estates from Chablis to the Côte Chalonnaise. 

Favorite wine to drink – I love Chenin Blanc and our portfolio has opened my eyes to the many styles of this grape, most notably from the Loire Valley. Thibaud Boudignon is a younger vigneron who is setting a new standard for what Savennenièrs can be. His Anjou Blanc is beautifully focused and elegant, balancing bracing acidity with ripe fruit, showcasing the minerality of the schist soils in which his grapes are planted. Upon his realization that only about half of the 300 hectares of this appellation are planted, he wondered what the potential could be. He's purchasing land, planting massal selection (coming from some of the best estates of the Loire), and farming biodynamically. I highly recommend getting a bottle of his Clos de la Hutte, if you can, only 300 bottles produced.  Planted on the grounds of a former monastery, this is a vineyard he brought back to life. As he was researching the appellation, he was convinced it was one of Savennières’ historically significant lieux-dits, which he calls his "Grand Cru" and "the culmination of everything I've done".