About Metro Wines

 

(828) 575-9525 • 169 Charlotte Street • Asheville, NC 28801

gina-john.jpgOwners John Kerr and Gina Trippi opened Metro Wines and celebrated their grand opening April 27, 2013. Located at 169 Charlotte Street in Asheville, Metro Wines is on the way to The Grove Park Inn. And there is plenty of free, close and easy parking!

"We wanted to create a shop that would provide not only the best service but still offer great value. Our prices are internet competitive," says John. "One of our goals was to give back to the community. We donate generously to local charities, provide local employment and our profits, taxes and investments support the community!"

Metro Wines offers a wide selection of wines focusing on pairing just the right wine with any dish or event. John and Gina share the philosophy that wine is about friends, family and community. Both are always available to answer questions, offer suggestions, share stories and work with your caterer or event planner. And there is always a sommelier on duty!

 

Meet Us! 

Gina Trippi,
Owner

3FF443EC 38B9 4C27 B552 A18A0BDB995CAn attorney by trade and member of The Florida Bar and The District of Columbia Bar, Gina has worked as an Felony Public Defender in Tampa, City Attorney in St. Petersburg, Legal Adviser and Hearings Officer for Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and as a Litigation Attorney, Comptroller of the Currency in Washington DC.

Relying on her skills in strategy and representing clients and issues, Gina has worked for political campaigns and to promote the mission national historic landmarks including Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio as well as many animal welfare organizations.

Doing what she likes best, Gina wrote feature stories for Current Newspapers in Washington DC and currently writes a column about wine for The Laurel of Asheville.

A graduate of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, with a degree in Communications, Gina graduated Law Review from Loyola New Orleans College of Law and received a Masters of Law from Georgetown in Securities Regulation. Gina founded and funds The Brigadier General Carl. L Trippi Animal Law Scholarship at Loyola New Orleans College of Law, a scholarship named after her father to assist a student who promises to use their law degree to promote animal welfare through the courts.

So why wine? Gina started to learn about and appreciate wine when she met John in Washington DC. The two started a wine  shipping business in Virginia, and tow years later relocated to Asheville with their two greyhounds, Cate and Bandit.

For MetroWines, Gina is the author of the weekly newsletter, "The Public Palate: Putting Wine in Its Place" tm

John Kerr,
Owner

john kerr 2021John Kerr, Co-owner, is the heart of Metro Wines. Born in Napa, wine is ingrained in him, but his desire to serve is what sets him apart. His wine knowledge is insightful and extensive. A great guide to your next bottle.

That's the news in brief. But John has a world of knowledge outside of wine. First of all, John is a graduate of the highly regarded University of California, Davis. Although initially attracted to wine and a career working the land, John has a mind for numbers and answered the call. As a Chartered Financial Analyst, John spent most of his career analyzing the capital markets programs in large national banks. (But we forgive him!)
 
"After retiring from my career, my goal was to build a business that would support the local community."
 
John has successfully managed the business operations of MetroWines since we opened the doors in 2013 and guided us from selling single bottles to providing the perfect wines and beers for weddings to planning and stocking cellars for wine collectors and acquiring and selling hard to find bottles. 
 
John has significantly contributed to the education programs at MetroWines including our years working with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville and is one of the founders of The Asheville School of Wine.
 
And if you need a clever name or catch phrase, John just seems to find the spark!

Andy Hale CSW
Director of Sales & Education

AndyHAndy Hale has worked in the wine industry for almost two decades, first as a server and later as a Sommelier for the 5-Star 5-Diamond rated Sanctuary Hotel at Kiawah Island, located outside of Charleston, SC. After a brief stint as a wine rep, he is now the Director of Education at Metro Wines. He is co-founder of the Asheville School of Wine and Asheville’s Blind Tasting League and teaches classes on wine for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through UNC Asheville as well as AB Technical College. He is a Certified Specialist of Wine and first level Sommelier.

His hobbies include eating, hiking, snowboarding, and cooking with his daughter, Josie. He is a native North Carolinian who attended Appalachian State University, before moving to Charleston to further his wine and food education. He loved the culinary scene in Charleston, but is very glad to be back in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

Andy has also been working hard as the Director of Education for the Asheville School of Wine.

Photo Courtesy Valerie Eidson

Lou Collichio,
Operations & Delivery. Beer Guy!

777133F9 0B46 403F 83CD 35D7116E4F5CLou came to Metro Wines with twenty eight years of experience in the spirits industry. He started his career in New Jersey first managing a small wine shop and then working for a chain of discount beer, wine, and liquor stores as a beer buyer and assistant store manager. After moving to Asheville in 2006, Lou worked for both Greenlife Grocery, and Whole Foods as a beer and wine buyer. His passion for all things craft beer started at the dawn of the American craft beer movement and has continued unabated to this day.

But it's not just beer. Lou has a Certificate for passing the Introductory Sommelier Examination in the Court of Master Sommeliers Program. He has a lapel pin!! But that does not mean that Lou has gone High Hat on us. He still offers Craazy Lou's Dollar Beers!

Lou says he is a "recovering musician." We haven't heard his music yet but what we do know is that Lou has stories! He plans to share some of his greatest hits with us and you on "Brewing UP a Storm" our beer blog. Did you know that Lou was in a 7th grade play with James Gandolfini and Lou stole the show? Stay tuned!

Now, Lou is Our Delivery Driver for the big new Ram Promaster 2500! Gone are the one delivery a day days. Working closely with Kristen on weddings, event planners and spa and other accommodations in Asheville, Lou is out on the road most of the time.

But if you can catch him, no one knows more about beer!

Kristen Calloway WSET 2
General Manager

7AC7C3A6 EF56 43CB AA27 B7A32244BF45Kristen Calloway makes wedding memories. As the wedding coordinator at Metro Wines and through her work with Doll Box Beauty, Kristen takes your senses and spirits to the limit! “Wines,” Kristen says, "are becoming the focus of creating lasting memories at weddings.”

Kristen works with couples to pair the best wines for the best price with their menu, selecting wines that almost everyone will enjoy and the perfect sparkling for that special toast!

Kristen is also the co-owner of Doll Box Beauty where she offers her services as a make-up artist. Starting her career at a department store cosmetics counter, Kristen says she instantly fell in love with the world of make up and has been making women beautiful and confident since that day. One of her brides was recently featured in The New York Times! Why is Kristen so successful in her work? Her clients say she listens, really listens, and works closely with you to bring your vision to life. Kristen, they say, puts her heart into it. says Kristen.

Kristen’s goal is to be as big a part of the wedding as the client needs, to do whatever she can to help the client tamp down the stress and set a beautiful and joyful stage for the big day. Call Kristen at (828) 575-9525 at MetroWines and https://www.dollboxproductions.com/

 

Bridget Kelly
Sales Consultant

7AC7C3A6 EF56 43CB AA27 B7A32244BF45

From Sioux City, Iowa, Bridget rolled on to Kansas City, Missouri, where she studied at Kansas City Art Institute, to Sonoma, California where she lived in a 1967 Yellow Stone Cavalier Trailer amongst vineyards with her husband and 3 dogs, to Truckee California and Lake Tahoe, then 5 weeks traveling around the US, 5 weeks in Ireland, Scotland and France, and finally settling in Asheville. Bridget has a wide cultural and geographic outlook!
 
Along the road, Bridget started with a paper route at 12, later owned a  floral design business, worked in the Fremont Diner, a well known roadside stop where she was photographed at the register for "O" The Oprah Magazine,  and Uncorked Wine Bar in Sonoma. Bridget was also a blacksmith and a welder, with an anvil tattoo to prove it, a private chef, with a chef's knife tattoo to prove it, ran spotlights for a theater, did her share of office cubicle work and had a shirt with her name on it at an auto shop.  All that adds up to a broad professional perspective as well.
 
Bridget has two other tattoos that define her, a mason jar representing her father's characterization that she had "champagne taste on a mason jar budget" and a shamrock behind her ear because she is Irish and because the tattoo guarantees she is always wearing something green on St. Patrick's Day!
 
Bridget says her desert island movie is "Stardust" because it is a funny, magical romance story. And to pair with it, Bridget's desert island wine is Bernard Gaucher Champagne because the wine is rich but lively and "reminds you of the fine things in life" (that would be before she ended up on the desert island!)
 
All of this brings us to the heart of the matter, why did Bridget, with her varied career, settle on wine?  She says "because wine tells an ancient story to which everyone can relate and, wine, all through time, has tied science and art together. But, mostly, the right wine makes your day just that much better." Gina.

 

Catherine Lavezzo WSET 2

Wine Buyer

75440C1B A1DE 49D4 BF50 B7872316954B"Cat" is a native of Asheville! She has been attracted to the beverage industry from the get go. On a constant quest to broaden her knowledge of beer, wine and spirits, as well as the management and "biz" involved, Cat has bartended all over Asheville.
 
Bolstering her skills as a "taster" and attentive server, Cat has been certified as a Beer Server and in cocktails from Bar Smarts.
 
But still there is more to Cat's quest! "The first time I tasted food properly paired with wine, I realized how complex, intricate and interlocked flavors can be." Cat not only found fascination in the palate components of proper pairing but the history of beers and wines as well.
 
When she is not at Metro Wines working with customers, Cat plans to, as she says, "go everywhere and learn everything about wine, from the ground up, literally. That said, Cat plans to work a harvest in California or Oregon "as soon as possible." And then, since she has developed an interest in French Wine, she hopes to "work a harvest in France."
 
In the meantime, Cat is busy cooking and pairing wines. What goes with what? Ask Cat!