Indigenous Selections

- Yohannah Burmeister
  Yohannah fell in love with wine and food while working in restaurants throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Thus began a thirteen-year journey that has allowed her to explore the world of wine firsthand. Her wine travels have taken her throughout Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, Israel, California, Oregon, and Washington. A lover of all great wine, her greatest passion lies in Bella Italia! Yohannah currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yohannah was inspired into wine while working at PRIMA Ristorante in Walnut Creek, California. PRIMA boasted a wine program ahead of its time, and owner, John Rittmaster's, educational focus and practical approach to theory and tasting influenced Yohannah. She continued to work in wine-oriented restaurants during college at the University of California at Berkeley, where she graduated summa cum laude with high honors from the College of Letters and Sciences. She spent time in Cuba, Guatemala, and the Middle East on humanitarian and educational trips. She lived the summer of 2003 abroad in Italy and fell in love with the people and culture. This experience greatly influenced the choices she would make for her life. In 2005, Yohannah joined The Henry Wine Group, one of California's premier family-owned fine wine distributors. She was a sales representative in San Francisco for four and half years. She was awarded "Rookie of the Year" for the 2006 sales calendar. She also held the title of San Francisco Lead Representative for three of those years. She was responsible for successful sales development of such great import portfolios as Vineyard Brands, Robert Kacher Selections, Ex Cellars, Winebow, Vias Imports, Jorge Ordonez Selections, Henriot Inc., Winesellers LTD., and more. During her tenure with The Henry Wine Group, she held the position of Associate Wine Educator, under the mentorship of Master Sommelier Peter Neptune, DWS. She was responsible for Intermediate WSET training and guided three successive classes through successful completion of the WSET exam. She also tutored colleagues for the Advanced WSET exams and help facilitate multiple successful passes. She would stand in for Master Neptune to teach monthly wine education for General Sales Meetings when necessary. She worked closely with Master Neptune on sales training, implementation and sales execution. Yohannah held the position of Prestige Accounts Manager in her final year at Henry Wine Group. This California statewide position allowed her to become entrenched in the larger market, calling on key on- and off-premise accounts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles markets. She worked closely with the executive team and assisted with National Accounts and National Core Programming for Hotels. She implemented in-market sales training with sales representatives across the state, helping them to meet goals and achieve greater account and market share. In 2006, Yohannah passed the Introductory and Intermediate exams for the Court of Master Sommeliers. In 2009, she passed the rigorous three-part Advanced Sommelier exam and currently holds the title of Advanced Sommelier. She is working towards her Master Sommelier Certification. In 2008, Yohannah passed the Advanced Certification of the Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET) with highest distinction. In January 2011, Yohannah joined Indigenous Selections as National Sales Manager. She is responsible for National Sales and Marketing of this boutique, grower-producer portfolio. She manages a team that includes two talented Regional Sales Managers. The opportunity to work closely with Giorgio Rivetti and personally represent the wines of La Spinetta, wines that began her on the path of fine wine appreciation thirteen years ago, brings her full circle. The family farmers represented by Indigenous affirm her beliefs in authenticity, autochthonous identity, and sustainable business practices. In addition to wine and travel, Yohannah enjoys hiking, reading, softball, cooking, and her family and friends.
  
  Mollie Lewis
  Mollie, daughter of a retailer in Kentucky, grew up in the wine and spirits business, however studied art and lived and worked in New York City until she was 25 years old. Mollie then moved to Napa Valley, California where she immersed herself in the wine industry, taking classes at the Culinary Institute of America to learn everything from wine-making, varietal geography to the international distribution chain. She moved down to San Francisco where she "worked her way up" in restaurants and wine bars as a sommelier until she decided to work on the distribution side and worked for Chambers and Chambers in the Bay Area. Mollie then lived 5 years in Italy, one in Tuscany and 4 in Piemonte. In Piemonte she worked as the Export Manager for Azienda Agricola Malvira, which is located in Canale-Roero. Since the spring of 2011, Mollie has worked for Indigenous Selections taking care of the North-Eastern and parts of Central, USA.
  
  Tamer Harpke
  Throughout his lifetime and career, Tamer Harpke has been fortunate to travel the world and discover many countries, cultures, people and cuisines. By 14 years old, he visited more than 40 countries, which later in life spurred his interest for international travel, food and wine. Tamer has passionately devoted more than 15 years to the hotel and restaurant industries since. Befittingly, Tamer pursued a BA in Hospitality Management from Johnson & Wales University in S. Florida, graduating Cum Laude. While in school, Tamer worked for James Beard-winning chef, Mark Millitello at Mark's South Beach, where he cultivated his interest in fine wine and first honed his skills within the fine-dining realm. He was invited to join Chefs Millitello and Tim Andriola at the James Beard House in October of 2001 in NYC. This experience shaped Tamer's future in the hospitality industry. From there, he joined James Beard-Award Winner, Tim Andiola's new venture, Timo Restaurant, located in North Miami Beach (Sunny Isles), as Restaurant Manager. He enjoyed managing a highly successful fine-dining establishment for over five years. It was at Timo that Tamer first met Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta and developed a friendship that ultimately grew into a fruitful working relationship. In 2004 Tamer worked harvest in Piedmont and Tuscany with La Spinetta. This catalyzed a career change, moving Tamer into the wine sales business, and Italian imports in particular. He accepted a position in S. Florida with Vinifera Imports, where he grew business for three years. This experience allowed Tamer to expand his knowledge and understanding of the fine Italian wine market, given Vinifera's substantial and respected portfolio of fantastic Italian wines. Tamer attended VinItaly (Italian wine trade show) in Verona several times and has traveled extensively throughout Italy. He has visited other European wine regions including Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley, and Spain. Tamer always hoped to work with Giorgio Rivetti and La Spinetta. The opportunity presented itself in 2009. Tamer joined INDIGENOUS Selections as a Sales Manager for the SE region in the Spring of 2009, where he helped build a national import company from the ground up. Through his role at INDIGENOUS, Tamer strived to bring attention and focus to some of the most respected, boutique, sustainable and authentic wine producers from Italy, while seeking to redefine the role of a wine importer by providing exceptional, educated, and timely customer service to distributor partners and consumers alike. Individually, Tamer is defined by his tireless work ethic, his innate likability and his deep passion for food and wine. When not traveling the SE for INDIGENOUS, one may find Tamer working the earth in his organic vegetable garden, collecting saltwater fish for his tanks or tending to his collection of orchids and tropical plants where he resides in South Florida.
  
  Jolanta Tomaselli
  Jolanta Tomaselli holds Masters Degree in Finance and International Business from Crummer School of Business, Rollins College, FL. She worked as financial analyst in the international banking sector. She provided support for treasury operations and overseen financial reporting to central banks, including National Bank of Poland, National Bank of Italy and the Federal Reserve. After leaving the banking sector, Ms. Tomaselli started to work for small businesses in South Florida while raising her young son. She worked as an accountant and/or tax preparer for product and service based businesses, financial institutions, and non-profit organizations. In 2010, Ms. Tomaselli worked with European hedge fund and implemented accounting and financial reporting system for its South Florida 100 million real estate portfolio. She joined Indigenous Selections LLC in 2009 as part time accountant and worked with Liz O'Brien. After Ms. O'Brien's departure, Ms. Tomaselli joined Indigenous Selections full time.

Yohannah Burmeister

Mollie Lewis

Tamer Harpke

Jolanta Tomaselli