This blog series focuses on the group tour of France set up by Theresa Beaver at Washington State University. Today we chatted with Jim Florio, Chairman and CEO of Click Wholesale Distributing.

Jim’s wine journey began while he was working in a grocery store in Spokane, Washington. During the early 1980s, the grocery stores in Washington sold wine, but did not have a wine stewart on staff who could help customers with their wine selections.  In 1985, a distributor in the area began offering classes about wine for grocery store staff. Jim took classes for two years. The classes covered grape varieties, wine regions around the world and many fine wines.

By 1988 Jim took a job with a distributor. It wasn’t too long before he said, “I love this job.” One of his responsibilities was to set stores, arrange the wines on a store’s shelves. By 1990 he began working for another distributor and continued with this company for ten years. He began covering Spokane, then Eastern Washington and eventually the entire state.

The new century brought a new challenge for Jim. He started his own company, Click Wholesale Distributing. The beer segment of the company took off and more recently spirits became a part of their portfolio. In addition to French, Italian and Australian wines, the company began to carry wines from South America. They also carry wines from other countries around the world. For Jim, the future is one of growth for his company especially in the beer and spirits portfolios.

Jim’s wine journey does involve wine travel. He goes to Vin Italia each year and visits wineries around the world. Jim also invites producers to visit Washington and showcase their wines at a tasting event.

Cheers,
Terry