Sipping wine while working at an upscale East Lansing restaurant appeared to all in a day’s work for 1987 Goodrich High School graduate Brian Morey.
At the time, Morey was earning an accounting degree from Michigan State University, and had stepped in to tend bar part-time at the Evergreen Restaurant. The decision sparked a career path that led him to prominence in the wine world.
‘I would sit at the bar and do my paperwork after the restaurant closed,? said Morey. ‘I would also try new wines that salespeople would bring in to the restaurant. I ended up spending a lot of time there, too, since I lived with two bands that practiced at my house’so I studied and drank wine.?
After receiving his degree from MSU in 1992? Morey’s interest and knowledge of wines continued to escalate.
During the next few years, he traveled the country for Grateful Dead concerts and tried several jobs.
‘I was in Muir Woods (Calif.) and decided to spend some time exploring some of the area wine tasting rooms and that hooked me even more. I traveled a lot, worked many jobs, and wine was always part of the equation, but never as more than a hobby.?
In 1998, after getting out of a failed restaurant endeavor with a friend, he took a job selling wine to past the time and figure out what to do next.
‘It turned out I really liked the business and went to work for a big importer out of New York a few years later.?
Morey continued to learn about wine and took the first level court of master sommeliers exam in 2004. A sommelier manages a wine selection, purchases, receives, stores, sells and services for a business.
That same year he started Morevino.
Today, Morey represents nearly 300 wines from almost every major wine producing region in the world and a couple of not-so-major regions. In addition, he currently does business in three states, working with six distributors and three importers.
‘With wine, you are at the mercy of Mother Nature,? said Morey. ‘Consider the host of variables from the type of oak barrels, to the climate, to the age of the vines’these can play a huge factor.?
‘Wine is very price-driven. Right now in this economy price is a big factor. Right now, wine at $20 a bottle is very popular’a few years ago $100 a bottle wine was hot.?