About Des Amis
The % alcohol by volume is on every alcoholic beverage label in the world, including the case of wine and the bottle of tequila we drank the night we decided to start our own company. Today, ALC/VOL offers a diverse portfolio of wines from California’s premier growing regions. Our mission is to turn up the volume on wines that we believe will be the next rock stars of the wine world. If it’s too loud, you’re too old.
ALC/VOL is the realization of our punk vision. We built careers in some of the largest, most successful wine companies in the world, but that sometimes meant toeing the company line rather than doing what was right for our relationships, our brands, or the health of the business. So we set out to build a company that would put those things first. Building a new company has been the hardest work we’ve ever done, but we feel lucky to work with people we trust, sell wines that we believe in, and make the decisions that we feel are good, not just beneficial. And that freedom is truly punk.
Meet the Band…
GREGORY AHN, PRESIDENT & CEO
A recovering corporate refugee turned serial entrepreneur, Greg spends most of his time trying to keep ALC/VOL from going off the rails while still finding new opportunities to explore. He is not officially allowed to have any free time, but on occasion we do let him go home for an hour to see his wife and 3 kids, and record a follow up to his YouTube sensation, Gangnam Style.
BRIAN LEWIS, NATIONAL SALES MANAGER
Brian has been in the wine and spirit business since college giving him 25 years of wine and distribution experience varying from warehouse work, route sales, retail sales, wholesale distributor management and finally turning to the “dark side” to run national sales as a supplier. A life long New Englander Brian, along with his wife and two daughters, recently moved to the great city of Charleston SC. The girls love it but Brian has been on the road so much this year that he still isn’t quite sure how to get from the airport to his house. Brian is enjoying working with and visiting distributors around the country and, when in town, finding time to hit more than his share of local breweries.
JASON KROOT, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER – NORTH
Jason discovered the world of wine on a trip down the Pacific Coast Highway while on a routine trip selling women’s reversible tapestry jackets. He believes the best way to represent the company is to be working the market carrying a bag and prefers to take his office days at a cruising altitude of 35,000 ft. When this native Mainer isn’t hitting the slopes in the winter months, he likes to weigh the pros and cons of every airline, credit card, hotel and rental car rewards program known to man. He is fueled by a daily ration of sunflower seeds and iced americanos which help him train for the Boston Marathon each year.
EDDIE MORRIS, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER – SOUTH
Eddie has been in the wine & spirits industry for 10 years and nearly 4 of those with the ABV family. A native of the Sunshine State, Eddie attended Florida State University and attained a degree in Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic in 2006. Naturally, Eddie jumped right into the wine distribution business following the completion of this degree, with the conviction that it would in fact be wine – not politics – that would one day deliver peace in the Middle East. He is still working on his final dissertation in the Alcohol by Volume International Affairs doctoral program… stay tuned. Eddie currently resides in St. Petersburg, FL. He spends his non-working hours cooking, reading, running, and spending as much time with his family as they will tolerate.
AARON UNDERWOOD, REGIONAL SALES MANAGER – WEST
Aaron was born Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr known professionally as Snoop Dogg (formerly called Snoop Doggy Dogg and Snoop Lion), is an American rapper and actor from Long Beach, California. Besides having a stellar rap career Aaron has over 20 years experience in Sales and Sales Management. He has since given up his musical career to dedicate his life to looking good in skinny jeans and going prematurely grey. He now gets to learn and work with some of the best minds in the wine business today. His passion for wine and staying in a different hotel room every night means he appreciates the moments he get’s to spend on the weekends with his lovely wife and 3 kids in the hotbed of the wine world, Reno Nevada.
HUNTER JEWETT, MARKET MANAGER – MID-WEST
Hunter Jewett, recruited into the wine industry out of Ole Miss, has been imprisoned in the beverage industry since 1997. Managing our Midwest business, Hunter lives in Chicago, IL with his wife, five kids (don’t ask) and his ever faithful Vizsla, Sam. In addition to the Midwest, Hunter has spent significant time in the Florida and Texas markets. When not managing distributors, selling wine, carting kids around, fixing things around the house, yard work, cooking or helping with homework, Hunter likes to swim, bike, and run (3 Ironmans completed). Also, known by the ABV team as “The Poet” Hunter is and avid fly fisher and bow hunter. Fall days he dreams (5 kids) of being in the woods hunting huge Illinois White Tails from his deer stand, which he never sees. In the spring, he dreams (5 kids) of standing in the cold rivers of Michigan casting feathers to big Steelhead.
