Meet the Team
Natalie Breaux, Store Manager & Wine Guru
Natalie Breaux is a food and beverage professional with over twenty years of experience as a wine and spirits buyer, writer, and educator. Hailing from Cajun country, Natalie has a deeply rooted passion for hospitality. Her wine journey began in 2004 when she made Denver, Colorado her home. Fresh out of culinary school, she took a job stocking shelves at a local wine shop where she discovered her natural ability to taste and understand wine, as well as a gift for deciphering customers’ palates. She has dedicated her life to this calling ever since, starting with her Certified Sommelier (CS) in 2007. In 2008, she completed the Certified Wine Educator (CWE) certification, earning the prestigious Banfi Award for achieving the highest score while passing all parts on the first attempt. She completed the WSET Diploma in 2009, and became a French Wine Scholar (FWS) in 2011. In 2017, Natalie passed the Master of Wine (MW) tasting examinations on her first attempt, and is currently in the final stages of completing her Research Paper to earn the MW qualification.
Natalie’s aptitude and passion for writing and education has led her to work with some of the industry’s most respected leaders and organizations, including projects for Jancis Robinson MW, Tom Stevenson, The Society of Wine Educators, and The Sommelier (now SOMM) Journal. She served as adjunct beverage instructor at both Johnson & Wales University and Metro State University in Denver, and as a lead instructor and online course designer for Napa Valley Wine Academy, where she was proclaimed “Napa’s most beloved educator” by CEO Christian Oggenfuss.
In constant pursuit of her educational and professional goals, Natalie has seized upon opportunities to travel to wine regions throughout the world, including most of Europe and South America. She lived in Argentina for a year and worked a harvest at Don Miguel Gascon winery in Mendoza. (While she does have a soft spot for Malbec, her favorite grape variety is Riesling.)
With her signature approachability and unparalleled enthusiasm, Natalie brings the magic of what can often seem a complex and intimidating subject to life. Her greatest joy is helping others to create memorable experiences around food, wine and other beverages. When she’s not obsessing about food and wine, she’s either tending her garden, chasing balls around a tennis court, practicing yoga & meditation, or listening to music and dancing in the kitchen.
Keith Lynn, Spirit Guide
Keith Lynn brings over a decade of experience in the fast-paced world of culinary arts and hospitality, where he’s worn every hat from sous chef to tour guide narrator to hotel front desk agent. Shortly after moving from the Front Range to Buena Vista, Colorado, Keith dove headfirst into the pursuit of his wine and spirits certifications, effectively trading the heat of the kitchen for the heat of barrel-aged spirits. He is currently preparing for his Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 exams, having successfully completed WSET Level 1. Equal parts hospitality pro, spirits nerd and tourist guide, his goal is to make the world of booze a little more fun and a lot less pretentious.
A whiskey guy at heart, Keith considers himself an ‘equal opportunity imbiber’. He’s taken on the ambitious task of visiting every winery and distillery in the shadow of the Colorado Rockies, including every bottle shop along the way - a task he insists is ‘field research’, not just a very specific hobby. Whether he’s engaged in a tasting, hunting for a unique bottle, dissecting a bourbon’s backstory, or discreetly raising an eyebrow at artificially flavored whiskey, he approaches the world of beverages with equal parts enthusiasm, respect and discernment.
When he’s not studying tannins, memorizing wine regions or scanning shelves for rare bottles, you’ll likely find him exploring Colorado’s backcountry, hiking scenic trails, taking photos, tearing down forest service roads on a four-wheeler, or tracking down the next great dram like a Bourbon bloodhound. He shares these adventures with his English Bulldog, C’est la Vie, who prefers snacks and leisurely strolls around McPhelemy Park Pond over summits. As he continues to explore the beverage industry with a glass in one hand and a camera in the other, he’s on a mission to turn every sip and snapshot into a story worth sharing.