About My Wine Journey

My name is James Matuszewski (Aka Somm James) and my path to fine wine and food is unconventional at best. I purchased my first 'real' bottle of wine in 1992 which I still have in my cellar, a 1988 Beringer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Although I may never actually open it for sentimental reasons, it symbolizes the beginning of what would be a true love affair with everything that is the wine country lifestyle. Fast forward to 2008 when I made a huge career path change and decided to move to Napa to "get in the business" where my family gave me three months to 'go figure it out'. I had completed my Levels I&II certification with International Sommelier Guild (ISG/CSW) on a whim while in BC Canada on a project where I had my nights free and decided to just 'learn a little more about wines...'. Little did I know how captivated I would become about everything wine and food as a lifestyle.

See my featured restaurant review on 'Check Please Bay Area':

wine vine napa valley somm

While working at a very popular local wine and food tasting bar as the 'Somm' and front of house restaurant manager, I learned a lot about everything Napa Valley (and Sonoma) and the people behind the scenes. I took advantage of being someone that the wineries wanted to entertain at their boutique properties and was able to get the insider experience while tasting some of the best under the radar wines in the valley. In 2010 I saw a need for a different kind of way to see Napa and Sonoma that was more intimate and hands-on, personal and initmate.


I started Flex Wine Tours to showcase the "roads less traveled" of Napa and Sonoma. I built a nice little tour business that made it to the top of the Trip Advisor rankings list in 2015-16. All the while exploring and discovering the best Napa and Sonoma had to offer while building some very valuable relationships along the way. I felt blessed to be able to enjoy venturing out every day and to show people from all over the world the true fruits of my labor. That all came to an abrupt halt with the devastating fires in 2017 and then again in 2018 putting the hospitality business on its heels for the next few years.

In 2019 and after these devastating fires, we decided to make the difficult decision to move out of CA and head back to Colorado where we had family calling. I spent the next five years being part of a new start up but had always pined to get back in the wine business where my passion to share my discoveries could continue. Hence, I decided to utilize all the connections and relationships I had built for 10+ years in Napa and return in 2024 for the season. My first week texting everyone, "...I'm back..." has revived my passion for wine and being here again.

In comes SAGE Fine Wines services. Why SAGE? First of all, sage is one of my favorite herbs for cooking and I enjoy growing it annually. It also connotes 'cleansing' and refreshing our spaces of negativity. Secondly, it is also one of my favorite shades of green that I wear and decorate with around the house. Lastly, a sage implies 'wisdom' or in-depth knowledge of something special or personal. I feel that wine is not only my specialty, but it's my true passion. Whether wine education, wine history, wine tasting, wine and food pairings, growing regions of the world, wine country tours or just talking about wine, it is part of my daily life. Wine is truly a food group in our household and I want to bring that passion and knowledge to others through my services.

I look forward to being your 'Somm for a Day' however possible and you can learn more about my services and rates HERE.


Cheers

James, Chief Wino

Local Wino

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