Our Sales Team
Tim Banks, Founder & CEO
With a mission to provide Vermonters with quality wines that he loved, Tim embarked on bringing in the goods when he moved here in 2010. After recieving his MBA from the University of Vermont, Tim went on to co-found one of the most established wine shops in the state. With a passion to focus on quality, affordable, and hard to find natural wines, his ambition lead to the creation of 802 Distributors. Since 2014, Tim and 802 has continued to grow and bolster the wine culture in Vermont. With a keen insight on market trends and how to get ahead of them, Tim developed 802 into the place to come for new, exciting, natural, biodynamic, organic, sustainable wines from around the world.
Jeremy Vida
Jeremy has spent 20 years in the world of wine working jobs from grape-to-glass. He caught the wine bug working a harvest for extra cash in college which lead to 3 years working at a vineyard and winery in the Midwest. After positions in wine shops and restaurants, he started his career in wine distribution spending the last 5 years with 802. “It is a privilege to represent the incredible growers, wineries, and importers in our portfolio who share the the same guiding principles of the 802 team. I believe wine is meant to be shared and doing so is one of the best parts of my job.”
“A few years ago, I was part of an buying trip to Croatia and Slovenia. I had a chance to meet the families behind the wines and spend time in their world. I came away with a deep appreciation for the wines and the people behind them. I am particularly proud of the success of these wines in Vermont and urge you to try them if you have not already A few of my favorites are the Vostinic-Klasnic Skrlet (an indigenous Croatian white grape) and the Sanctum Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Slovenia. Sanctum was established in the mid-12th Century by French Carthusian monks who planted vines as they traveled east. Fast forward a few hundred years and French vineyard owners are scouring eastern Slovenia looking for prime vineyards site.”
Jordan Monahan
Jordan is a seasoned restaurant veteran with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. A passion for wine combined with an innate desire to preserve our increasingly delicate natural environment makes 802 Distributors a perfect fit. If you are looking for a salesman look elsewhere. If you are looking for an advocate for responsible grape growing and winemaking with a holistic approach towards your business and your relationship with 802, he is your guy.
Phil Christian
Phil joined the team at 802 Distributors 2018 after selling wine and beer has been in the trade since May of 2011. Prior to that he worked in the food service industry for about 15 years with most of his time in the front of the house as a bartender and server. During that time, he discovered that wine was a passion that could be perused as a career and incorporated many of his general interests. In 2012 Phil started his wine education journey with the WSET 2 training, followed by the French Wine Scholar, the WSET 3 and finally the Italian Wine Scholar training in 2018. He continues to read, study and learn about the fascinating world of wine on a daily basis. Phil really enjoys the discovery of new regions and varietals of grapes as more wine is being imported into the USA from smaller producers and from more obscure regions around the globe. Phil has been able to travel to Argentina and South Africa with some importing partners and helps with finding new producers to work with here in Vermont.
Taste and flavor experiences are one of Phil’s favorite things to enjoy in life, so being able to enjoy that while tasting wines with his customers each week is one of his favorite things about being a fine wine specialist. Phil’s main goal at 802 Distributors is to bring his years of experience and knowledge to the table to help his customers make the best decisions for themselves and their businesses and help them navigate the ever-expanding world of wine.