Meet Tami Wong: Sommelier & Wine Rep

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tami Wong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tami, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
My motivation as a wine director and sommelier was to make San Diego a world class wine destination. Beer has played the lead here for so long now, that someone had to tell this side of the story. There has been a growing group of passionate professionals on the sommelier side. I’ve recently begun to meet the winemakers doing great work right here in our own back yard. I joined the “ironically way less dark side” of being a wholesale wine rep in 2017 and I can’t believe I stuck to restaurant life so long! I love selling wine. There are 142 planned and active wineries here in San Diego County and no one knows they exist. I decided to be the person to build the bridge between the winemakers and the sommeliers. 

What should our readers know about your business?
There are many people that sell wine, but no one that specializes in San Diego County wine. I am so excited to first, find all the good wines and then turn everyone on to them. In any great wine region, you find local wines on every wine list and in every shop. We are in the very beginning of the emergence of San Diego wines, We have the climate and an agricultural tradition. This is just like being in Napa or Willamette Valley in the mid 1960s. My ten years working as a sommelier and restaurant manager gave me the knowledge and the relationships to get my foot in the door, but it is still hard. In San Diego you have to do both jobs. Being a somm was easy and so natural to me, but I am not a natural manager of people. Why do I have to tell an adult to do their job? As it turns out, I’m not always a great employee either. I never understood why I had to manage my manager. Can’t I just do my job well and we can be cool? I really just want to do whatever I want. In this regard, sales is perfect for me. If I need to go out of town, like when my mom was sick, I work remotely through my phone and email. I finally figured out that I just needed to be an independent contractor/self-employed. I was terrified for years of working on 100% commission, but since I enjoy my work, I matched my prior salary in the second year. My sales increase each year, even though 2020 will get a COVID asterisk. The most important thing I want you to know about me and Stay Classy Selections is that I do this because I love it. I don’t have quotas nor wine that I have to sell that I don’t like. I want to help you find the wine that makes you happy. If you are happy, then I am too. San Diego waits for us to celebrate her.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite place in the world is The Casbah, so I would pick a night for a show. Starlite Lounge for dinner before the show, but we would probably still need nachos from La Posta after that. Sleep late, then late breakfast at The Mission. Head north to the Sans V Tasting room for wine, then Raging Cider, maybe a stop at Orfila on the way back. Finish the day at The Rose for dinner and more wine. Beach day in Ocean Beach with lunch at OB Noodle House, more beach and dinner at Wonderland. The Museum of Photographic Arts is my favorite in Balboa Park, but an Imax movie at the Fleet is always fun. Lunch at Panama 66, dinner at Fernside, nightcaps at Whistle Stop. The next day is hiking, lunch in Julian, tasting at Ramona Ranch, shopping at the Viejas Outlets, then Garden Kitchen for dinner. Turf Club for a nightcap. The Little Italy day starts with Mona Lisa Sandwiches at Waterfront park, then walk down the coast to Seaport Village. Happy Hour at Lion’s Share, dinner at Juniper and Ivy and close out at Vino Carta.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Mom, Lynda Bailey passed this summer at the young age of 70. We weren’t estranged but we weren’t close, which I think makes it harder. She was stronger and more independent than I ever gave her credit for. At the age of 51, she pulled up stakes in the small town in South Dakota where she grew up and drove to California alone to live with me and my sister. She lived her life exactly the way she wanted. I owe it to her to do the same.

Website: www.stayclassyselections.wine
Instagram: @stayclassyselections, @wineintamitime
Twitter: @wineintamitime
Facebook: Stay Classy Selections