2021 Oregon Wine Symposium | National Sales in a Post-COVID World

Merritt Olson, a Northwest native, is the director of sales for Mitchell Wine Group, Oregon’s leading independent wholesaler of fine wines. Prior to her position at Mitchell, she worked on all sides of the wine business including originating the roles of portfolio manager and general sales manager at Galaxy Wine Company and holding positions in national sales at Owen Roe, K Vintners and Charles Smith Wines, among others. She is an active member of the ¡Salud! Auction Committee and is a founding board member of Women In Wine Oregon. Merritt lives in Portland with her husband and two young daughters.

Elizabeth Tilton is the founder and CEO of Oyster Sunday, a corporate office for independent restaurants and food brands with the mission to reimagine a sustainable and supportive infrastructure for the food and beverage industry.

Elizabeth’s hospitality career started with several years of back of house experience in New Orleans before moving to NYC to join Momofuku. On the branding team, Elizabeth managed the public relations and marketing for Momofuku’s New York restaurants, market research for Momofuku’s expansion in the U.S., and major partnerships with companies such as The World Bank, Sweetgreen, Patagonia, Lucky Peach and MAD in Copenhagen.

Prior to launching Oyster Sunday in 2019, Elizabeth was part of the original leadership team and the head of brand at W&P, a vertically-integrated design and manufacturing company developing culinary products. She managed a department to strategize and execute the launch of over 300 products including products in partnerships with Williams-Sonoma, West Elm, Lucas Films and Food52.

Steve Slater began his wine career in retail managing fine wine shops in Southern California. His passion for wine led him to a position as an off-premise salesperson in Orange County for Southern Wine & Spirits in 1989. He was promoted through the ranks over the years in Southern California until he became the vice president, general manager. His exposure to all channels of trade along with his growing passion for wine led him to the role of executive vice president, general manager of the Wine Division for all of Southern’s markets nationally in 2010. In 2016 when Southern Wine & Spirits merged with Glazer’s Distributors, his responsibilities expanded to include the new markets. Steve works daily alongside Mel Dick, president of the Wine Division and senior vice president of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Both are based at the corporate headquarters jointly overseeing the wine progress of the company. Steve lived in Brazil for six years, is fluent in Portuguese, is a Certified Specialist of Wine, a former licensed falconer and collects classic cars.

Carrie Kalscheuer transitioned from the restaurant industry in 2010 to start a career in Oregon’s thriving wine country, where she currently works as director of sales and education at A to Z Wineworks / REX HILL. In addition to a degree in philosophy, Carrie possesses multiple wine certifications, including Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, and the Level 3 Advanced Certification with Distinction through the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. Carrie also sits on several committees and boards throughout the Willamette Valley, including the Willamette Valley Wineries Association board, the Oregon Pinot Camp steering committee, the Oregon Wine Board education committee and the Chehalem Mountains Winegrowers Association board.