who we are
we like to drink wine, eat good food, and listen to epic music.
our philosophy
Wine shopping is overwhelming. When you walk into a grocery store or wine shop you’re confronted with hundreds of options.
How do you pick a decent bottle? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was someone there with you to suggest a few?
Fruit Wine Co curates the wines we love to drink. Wines that tell a story. Wines that are different from what’s on offer at big box stores.
our story
Fruit is the crucible that collects the energy of sunlight, the nourishment of water, and the richness of the earth, and binds them into wine. Fruit is our core product–because every wine made anywhere started its life as fruit growing on a vine. Our story is one of many passionate people sinking their time and expertise into wine–learning, growing, teaching and experiencing together. It’s this passion that we love sharing with our friends and customers.
fruit wine co is Crunchy Red Fruit–a small wine company that sprang up in early 2020, founded by former Canlis master sommelier Jackson Rohrbaugh and his wife Gretchen. Crunchy Red Fruit has, from the very beginning, emphasized wine made with minimal input. This includes natural wine, organic wine, biodynamic wine and low-intervention wine. We emphasize discovery and showcase music and recipe pairings with the wine we sell.
fruit wine co is also Seattle Wine Co, a wine shop in Bellevue founded in 2003 by former owners Karen and Nabil Absi. From its inception, Seattle Wine Co placed a huge emphasis on personal service, fair pricing, and community. Seattle Wine Co has been a place for customers to be listened to and cherished, and to get fantastic wine reccomendations. Mark Lowry, a seven-year veteran of Seattle Wine Co, has stayed on board as buyer and manager.
We merged in mid 2023, and with that our two companies become Fruit Wine Co. Crunchy Red Fruit remains the name of our wine club subscription.
let us make dinner (or early afternoon) better.
join crunchy red fruit.
our team
Jackson Rohrbaugh, MS
president
Jackson is a Master Sommelier from Seattle. He worked for ten years at Canlis as a bartender, server and sommelier. He passed his Master Sommelier exam in 2017.
Food and cooking inform his whole life: whether it’s finding ways to introduce his 7 and 11 year-old to cook Korean food, or to teach food and wine pairing to fine dining servers. He travels the world in search of cool stuff to drink and tell stories about.
Kat Whitfield
warehouse manager
Kat (they/them) came on board during a very chaotic time and has been a life saver. Bringing tons of wine, hospitality, and operational skills to our team, they ensure all the delicious wine makes its way to you. None of this would be possible with Kat!
Being our customer correspondent, if you have any crunchy-question, please feel free to reach out to Kat below!
Mark Lowry
lead buyer • manager
Mark was exposed to wine early on, and has been on a quest for great wine experiences ever since. He studied winemaking and wine history but his real passion is food and wine pairing, and particularly the wines of Burgundy. Mark has a certificate in Wine Business and Food Pairing from the NWWA and is a WSET Level 3 Scholar through the Wine and Spirits Education Trust. His truest joy comes from giving great wine experiences to friends and customers that expand their horizons.
Gretchen Rohrbaugh
social media • procurer
Ever the consummate part-time wine professional, Gretchen is at the top of her field in mother-baby care at the University of Washington Medical Center, where she is a full time RN and Lactation Consultant. At Fruit Wine Co., Gretchen wears many hats, including procurer, social media director, and merchandiser.
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additional questions?
If you have more questions that we weren’t able to answer here, want to work with us, or even just say hi- shoot us an email and we’ll get back to you soon!
