Kristie Adams, a born-and-bred Washingtonian, is someone who has led her life driven by passion. She has pursued this path, both personally and professionally, with unwavering commitment, and it has consistently served her well. It was in the early nineties whilst working at a Seattle restaurant in the Pike Place Market, that the door was opened to an undiscovered passion, the world of wine. Kristie knew this was her calling as she instantly developed an insatiable appetite to explore, learn and taste as much wine as possible. This meant her art & art history degrees would need to be put on the back burner.
Since then, she has gained an international and diversified blend of experience in the wine trade, including vineyard production, wholesale distribution, brand management, event planning, investment portfolio management, wine education, client relations and sales. The depth and breadth of her various roles around the world has continued to challenge, motivate and excite her.
An enthusiastic professional, Kristie seeks complex and fluid environments that require continuous adaptability. Give her the biggest, most adventurous challenges, and she'll rise to them. This is what led her and her husband to live and work in London, Moscow, Tuscany and Piraeus for ten years. In London she worked for Liberty Wines and Bordeaux Index, trading fine wine as a commodity, advising private clients on their portfolios, selling to on-trade high end accounts, leading wine trips in Europe and executing elevated client tastings. Kristie's time in Moscow provided her the opportunity to obtain the WSET Level 4 Diploma, study Russian and Italian, paint and work the 2008 vintage at Isole e Olena, a top Tuscan producer. This overseas experience was a truly enriching time.
It was a tough choice, but the Adams decided to move back home to Seattle in 2013 to be closer to family and the PNW's great outdoors. Over the next ten years, Kristie embraced two demanding career roles (Head Brand Manager at Noble Wines followed by National Sales Director / Wine Educator at Abeja Winery) to further expand and develop her skill set. She ultimately found her way to Kysela Père et Fils after meeting and working with Fran over several years on her Abeja work trips to the east coast. Kristie's passion for wine imports was calling her name and so this exciting new journey began.
Kristie models her life after one of her favorite Matisse paintings "Le Bonheur de Vivre" (Joy of Life), which celebrates life, love, and the human experience through vibrant colors, simplified forms, and a utopian, pastoral scene, aiming to evoke feelings of peace, pleasure, and delight. Some of the ways that she embraces this is by spending time in the great outdoors, tending her garden, trekking, mountain biking, boating, painting, traveling the world, cooking up a storm and drinking delicious wine. The beauty here is that this can all be done with her husband, Gib, Australian Shepherd, Zoya, family and friends!
