LAUREN: [00:00:02] Hello and welcome back to Enterprise Coworking Community Spotlight. This month we are sitting down with Blake Eve, the director of marketing for VOlio Imports. Blake, thank you so much for sitting down with me.
BLAKE: [00:00:14] Thank you. Thank you for having me. Super fun.
LAUREN: [00:00:17] Awesome. Well, let's get into it. So why don't you tell us a little bit about Volio imports and what you guys do?
BLAKE: [00:00:23] Yeah, absolutely. So Volio is a fine wine importer and we import from Italy, Spain and France, with Italy definitely being our bread and butter. Representing the Italian wine experience is super important to us. Um, and we really have wines that are all across the range. So everywhere from everyday approachable entry level price points all the way to super iconic cult following, highly sought after wine. So we really have kind of the full gamut there and are really deep in Italy representation.
LAUREN: [00:00:56] Something for everyone.
BLAKE: [00:00:57] Something for everyone, which is always great.
LAUREN: [00:01:01] How long have you guys been in business?
BLAKE: [00:01:03] Yeah, it's actually a long history. So our CEO, Charles Lazarus actually founded Volio originally as a distribution business in Denver in 2007, but it switched really into the national imports model in 2017. And that's actually when I was brought on board as the first employee of the import side of the business. Um, and I'm the director of marketing. So we've really expanded since then. So we really started here as like a home base in Colorado. But now we're in most states across the country. We have a team of around 20 people but five people are based here in Denver. And the people that you'll see around Enterprise RiNo.
LAUREN: [00:01:41] Perfect. So what makes Volio different from other companies in your field?
BLAKE: [00:01:48] Yeah, it's a really great question. I would say what really makes us different is this kind of, like, crazy, culturally deep representation of of Italy. So we actually about half of our team is Italian or Italian American and our CEO is actually currently living in Italy, so near our wineries. Um, and it's it's a hard story to tell because you're really bridging the gap from these people who are working in the vineyards every day, all the way to the bottle that's sitting on your table. So that's a huge focus of ours, is really to tell those stories and bridge the gap between the vineyard experience and the wine that you have on your table, which I'm sure you've seen this too. Like there's a lot of consumers these days who really want to know the story behind the food, the wine, the like, the beer, what they're drinking. They really want to understand, like where things are coming from. And that's really what, you know, we really seek to tell. And what makes us different is really to to bridge that gap all the way to, you know, when you picture when you're, you know, actually at a vineyard tasting and a tasting room and hearing the story directly, which it's, you know, it's not every day that you get to do that. So we're here to help, um, kind of bridge that, that gap between Italy and and then what's on our table here in the US.
LAUREN: [00:03:03] That's awesome. Yeah. I think that, like, the story behind everything is just so interesting. And it definitely brings a a cool aspect to you guys for sure.
BLAKE: [00:03:11] Definitely, definitely. And wine is so specific to geography that like part of it is geography and history lesson as you're learning about the wine making too. So it's really cool because you can go just so deep, deep down that rabbit hole of learning, which makes it really fun.
LAUREN: [00:03:26] Yeah, that's very cool. Um, why did you guys choose Enterprise Coworking?
BLAKE: [00:03:32] Yeah. Um, so we actually used to have a brick and mortar office in, um, in Denver pre-COVID. Um, so obviously that kind of switched things a lot, and we switched then to hybrid remote situation, which was just working really well for us and really giving us that ability to expand and contract and be able to have conference rooms with a lot of guests but not necessarily own a big building. Um, and we moved into Enterprise last year, and we really loved the beautiful office space that we have. We have an office suite, um, and the community and the RiNo neighborhood. So it's a super good fit for us because it really gives us that ability to have a community and kind of the vibe of a lot of people when we're, you know, the small team of five that we have here locally in Denver.
LAUREN: [00:04:15] Yeah, we love having you guys here. I love how you guys decorated your office, too. It looks so cute. Oh good, I love that.
BLAKE: [00:04:20] Yeah. It's a there's a lot of wine around and some espresso and some wine artwork too. So yeah, it's a great setup and it's really fun to come in and spend time with our team, even across departments too.
LAUREN: [00:04:32] Yeah, absolutely. So last question, speaking to our viewers, is there anything else that you would like to know, like to have them know about the company about you or whatever?
BLAKE: [00:04:45] Yeah. I mean, I think something that is important to remind people is that fine wine doesn't need to be scary. Like, it kind of has, you know, this history where people think of it and they're like, oh, I don't know anything about that. So I'm not even going to go down that rabbit hole. But it doesn't need to be expensive. It doesn't need to be unapproachable. And, you know, we're really here to help that. And it's a fun thing to explore. And it's supposed to be fun. It's not supposed to be stodgy. So I would just say like just a couple miscellaneous tips, like just talk to your local wine shop about what you like and just ask questions and ask for their recommendations and explore. Um, and then once you kind of start to like, get a little bit more of a sense of what you like, you can start checking out who the importer is. So that's kind of how we encourage people if they're like, oh, we really like your portfolio. You can actually look on the back label of wines. A lot of people don't know this, but on the back label, it'll show who it's imported by.
BLAKE: [00:05:37] So if you start to really like, like certain things, you can kind of start checking out, oh, I actually like this importers portfolio and the types of wineries that they represent. And that's helpful. But overall, again, it's supposed to be fun. It's not supposed to be scary thing. Um, and there's also real people like creating this whole process to get that bottle to you. Um, so real people who are, you know, farming, there's a lot of agriculture involved. There's a lot of these processes that go through the whole cycle, through harvest, through winemaking. Um, and kind of being curious about that, too, makes it a little bit more fun. So you can kind of really feel connected with what's on your table. And if any one of the enterprise community ever wants to swing by the office, you know, feel free to swing by. You can pet some dogs, hang out with us. Um, ask about tips for wine. You know, we're we're here and we're happy to chat.
LAUREN: [00:06:26] Awesome. Yeah, that's so great. Making things more approachable because I've been there before. You know, you go to a wine shop and there's just so many options and you're not sure and that's also such a good tip about on the back of the label. I had no idea about that.
BLAKE: [00:06:39] Yeah, yeah, a lot of people don't know because it's not necessarily something you're it kind of is almost like reading. It feels like reading the fine print. But you can kind of start to see trends there. So yeah, it's it's supposed to be fun. So asking around and I know it can feel overwhelming when you first like go into a shop with a ton of selections, but, you know, asking most of the people at the local wine shop, it's what they love. They're there because they love it, so they're willing to share. And same thing with everyone on our team too.
LAUREN: [00:07:04] Awesome, awesome. Well, Blake, thank you so much for sitting down with me talking a little bit about Volio. If anybody wants to learn more they can go to the website volioimports.com, or you can always swing by the office. Thank you!
BLAKE: [00:07:21] Thank you so much Lauren. Really appreciate it.