Our Wine

Jake Kosseff
Company Wine Director: Wild Ginger + The Triple Door

Jake Kosseff joined us last fall and now assumes the role of Company Wine Director for our three establishments: the Wild Ginger, the Wild Ginger at the Bravern and the Triple Door.
From humble beginnings in the restaurant business, Jake has become an important figure for both restaurants and wine collectors across the country.
While growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, Jake was introduced to restaurant work at the tender age of 12 years old – filling in at as a busboy at a friend’s father’s Italian restaurant.  Since then, he has never held a job outside of the restaurant industry. In 1995, Jake graduated from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland with a BA in Philosophy, Classical Languages, History of Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science. 
From Madison, Jake moved to Seattle, Washington, the city he now calls home, in 1999.  Following short stints as the Beverage Director at The Blowfish Asian Café and for Six Degrees Restaurants, Jake became the Wine & Spirits Director for Chef Kerry Sear’s Cascadia Restaurant in 2000.  While at Cascadia Restaurant, Jake developed a local and national following based on excellent wine service and his critically acclaimed selection of outstanding wines from small producers.
In 2005 Jake became the Wine & Spirits Director for Campagne and Café Campagne in the Pike Place Market.  During this time Campagne’s wine program blossomed into one of the most comprehensive and interesting French wine programs on the west coast, winning numerous awards, including the “Best of Award of Excellence” from the Wine Spectator.
Jake has consulted on some of the most successful wine programs in Seattle.  Wine lists that Jake has written have won in the wine list category in the Best of CitySearch awards 3 years running:  for Crush in 2005 (audience winner), for Campagne in 2006 (audience and critics winner), and for Qube in 2007 (audience winner).  In August, 2007, Jake decided to pursue consulting fulltime: restaurant clients have included Qube, Crush, Yarrow Bay Grill and The Beach Café at the Point.   Jake is also a wine writer, published in Seattle Homes & Lifestyles and Seattle Magazine.
Jake is the 2006 Chaîne des Rôtisseurs “Best Young Sommelier in America” and has been accepted to sit for the Master Sommelier Diploma.  Jake has won numerous awards and recognitions including: Sommelier for Seattle Metropolitan’s “Restaurant Dream Team” (2006), and Seattle Magazine’s “Best Sommelier” (2007). 

Cortney Lease
Cellar Master

Cortney Lease is the multi-tasking Cellar Master for Wild Ginger and The Triple Door. A pivital role that puts her directly in charge of an inventory of over 30,000 bottles. Cortney's day consists of lifting boxes, organizing storage areas, managing deliveries and her favorite, tasting wines. In total there are about nine wine rooms and storage vaults where this vast collection of "juice" is stored. These storage areas are broken down into cellars, transfer rooms, white coolers, glass pour rooms, and red rooms which are broken down by grape varietals. It takes a nimble mind to stay on top of such a complex system.
Luckily, Cortney keeps in shape for all her heavy-lifting with her passion project, Enertia Dance Company - a multi-faceted performance group that hosts five to eight performances a year, and has occasionally graced the stage at The Triple Door. While her degree is in chemistry, she’s been dancing all her life - only now she finds herself dancing around cases of wine.
Cortney grew up on an orchard in East Wenatchee and has big plans to one day become a winemaker, combining her degree in chemistry and her love of wine. Cortney studied through the Wine Spirit Education Trust in England and passed the advanced level with Distinction, before coming back to the US and earning her certificate as a Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. Currently, she is apprenticing at a winery in Woodinville and likely sipping one of her current favorites, a Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero.

Addison Richards
Seattle Wine Director

Having celebrated his 10-year anniversary with Wild Ginger in September, Addison has established himself as a vital part of the service team. He chooses wine for both the cellar and main list, while acting as an educational tutor to the other captains and staff. He recommends reading materials, administers tests, and acts as a wine mentor for new people coming through the system. Having traveled to Walla Walla, Paso Robles, Alsace, Bolgheri and Burgundy he hopes to use what he has learned to celebrate the world of wine with guests at the restaurant.

Outside of work, he writes somewhat unconventional restaurant reviews and continues to develop his personal archive of journalism, poetry, and photography. Originally moving to Seattle for the spoken word scene, Addison is known for his offbeat pre-shift speeches and DRY sense of humor. A savory sort of person, he can often be found considering what wine to pair with the food at the local taco bus.