David Kemmerer
Key Collaborator
When asked how he got started in the wine business, David claims he is a failed musician who fell into wine. While partially true, his wine career is more likely due to a lot of time spent in Europe (Belgium, France) in his youth, driving around in the family Volvo exploring—1980s French cuisine in particular. These experiences gave David a head start on his passions for history, geography, geology and culture; as a young adult, he realized that these lifelong interests translated directly into wine. After college, he encountered a family friend who was opening a wine shop in Atlanta, and the rest is history. Within a few months of working there he was spending his days digging into wine books and tasting dozens of wines in his role as wine buyer, eventually earning his WSET Level 3. From retail, he jumped into wine wholesale in Atlanta, eventually becoming the sales manager of a fine wine distributor while building the company’s import portfolio and bringing that love for European wine full circle.
Through distribution, David met Ben Carson-Brown, and the two connected on a buying trip to Spain, he quickly asked Ben for a job. At the time, Ben was the only salesperson at Olé & Obrigado, but a few years later, David finally got the call and was brought in to develop the Southeast and Mid Atlantic sales territories. As the sales team grew around the country, he then was tapped to be the company’s National Sales Manager and spent 7 years in that role until closing that great chapter to pursue other passions in the wine business.
David is thrilled to reunite and collaborate with Ben Carson-Brown, Rui Abecassis, Martin Castro, and many other friends and colleagues to help structure the Cultivamos strategy and expansion plan for new markets. David is the consummate “bass player” on a sales team: keeping the beat while making sure everyone is connected and speaking the same language. He brings an extensive knowledge of many key markets and customers, as well as deep familiarity with the distributor landscape.