Wine Hound began the way a lot of good things do — over dinner, with a good bottle, and a basset hound named Jerry nosing around the corks.

We're Sam and Hannah, a husband-and-wife team who spent years building expertise on two different sides of the same idea: that a great experience and a well-run business aren't opposites — they make each other possible. We both pursued the WSET Award in Wines through Level 3, and turned a shared passion into a consultancy that brings fractional executive leadership to wineries.

Meet Hannah — Fractional Chief Hospitality Officer / Chief Member Experience Officer

Hannah leads our hospitality and member-experience work, and she's spent her career doing exactly what exceptional winery hospitality requires: creating experiences people remember, and building the programs that bring them back.

As Director of Learning and Member Experience for a national association, she designs and delivers the kind of high-touch experiences wineries aspire to — a signature annual conference for hundreds of attendees, a virtual education series reaching her full membership, and intimate executive dinners and networking events — all while leading a team and overseeing a multimillion-dollar budget. Her gift is making complex, large-scale experiences feel personal and effortless. She's known for treating every member as an individual and for sensing what an audience needs before they ask.

She's also a professionally trained facilitator, with facilitation training through Leadership Strategies and executive leadership development and mentorship through the Telos Institute — credentials that let her lead corporate events, workshops, and planning retreats with real authority, and open the door for wineries to host higher-value corporate gatherings.

Before that, she led teams and drove strategy in demanding professional-services environments, and she began her career as an ICU nurse — where calm under pressure, genuine care for people, and meticulous attention to detail aren't nice-to-haves, they're the job. It's a rare foundation for hospitality: warmth and precision in equal measure.

On the wine side, Hannah holds the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines and has been a founding member of a wine club since 2018. The result is a toolkit purpose-built for winery hospitality, which she brings as your fractional executive:

• Chief Hospitality Officer (CHO) — setting the vision and standards for the entire guest experience: service culture, signature tastings, tours, and events, and staff training that elevates every interaction
• Chief Member Experience Officer — owning the member journey for your wine club and membership programs: onboarding, engagement, loyalty and retention, and the member insights that guide smarter decisions
• Corporate Events & Facilitation — designing and facilitating corporate offsites, retreats, and workshops at your winery, plus the print and on-site marketing materials that make in-person events shine

What people say about Hannah

"Hannah is exceptional… Our members love her. She's attentive to their needs and treats them as individuals." — Chief Learning & Member Experience Officer (current supervisor)

"She demonstrates strategic insight and leadership at unparalleled levels — always thinking about efficiency, budget, and winning outcomes." — Partner, national law firm

"You're the REAL deal — talented, smart, kind, hardworking, committed, and tons of fun." — Chief Learning Officer (former supervisor)

Meet Sam — Fractional CIO/CTO

Sam leads our technology, AI, and digital-marketing work, bringing more than a decade of turning technology into business results — both as a consulting executive and as a former CTO.

He's guided organizations through ERP implementations, eCommerce launches, and complex system integrations, consistently delivering on time, on budget, and with a clear eye on the bottom line. His track record is one of growing revenue and improving profitability: building online sales channels, lifting conversion, streamlining operations, and turning underperforming functions into profitable ones.

More recently, Sam has been at the front of the AI wave — developing the AI practice and service offerings for his consulting firm, defining real-world use cases, and helping teams put modern AI tools to practical use. As your fractional CIO/CTO, that means AI guidance is built into how he leads technology, not bolted on — and grounded in what actually works, not what's merely trendy.

Like Hannah, Sam holds the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines — so the technology recommendations always come from someone who understands the wine, the guest, and the business behind them.

As your fractional CIO/CTO, Sam covers:

• Technology leadership — strategy, roadmaps, and vendor decisions for wine club, POS, inventory, CRM, and eCommerce systems
• AI & automation — finding high-value use cases, then building and rolling them out responsibly
• Digital marketing & growth — SEO and AEO, paid advertising and retargeting, customer email-list building, and marketing-calendar planning for promotions and releases
• Integration & automation — connecting your systems so data flows and your team stops doing work software should do

How We Work Together

For a long time, our two careers felt like separate lives. Then we noticed how rarely wineries get to work with people who speak both languages — hospitality and technology — and how often that gap holds a business back. A beautiful tasting experience undermined by clunky systems; great software with no soul behind it.

So we built Wine Hound to close that gap. Hannah designs the experiences your guests feel; Sam builds the technology and intelligence that make them run. Even our marketing splits naturally down the middle — Sam on the digital side, Hannah on the in-person side — so your outreach is consistent from first click to final toast. Because it all comes from one team that shares a table every night, your guest experience and your operations finally pull in the same direction.

Our Philosophy

We believe hospitality, technology, and AI — used intentionally — can transform how people experience wine, from the moment a guest discovers your label to the final sip in the tasting room. No jargon for its own sake, no snobbery — just thoughtful work that helps your winery shine.

FAQ

What does Wine Hound do?
We bring fractional executive leadership to wineries through two roles: a Fractional Chief Hospitality Officer / Chief Member Experience Officer (Hannah) and a Fractional CIO/CTO (Sam, covering technology, AI, and digital marketing). Engage us for one or both — and if you have a need that falls outside those roles, we're happy to scope custom work.

Who are you?
Hannah is a hospitality and member-experience leader and trained facilitator, with a background in large-scale events, adult education, and team leadership. Sam is a technology, AI, and digital-marketing executive with 10+ years in digital transformation, eCommerce, and consulting. We both hold the WSET Level 3 Award in Wines.

Do I have to engage both of you?
Not at all. Many wineries start with one fractional role and grow into the other. Because the same team handles both, your guest experience, your technology, and your marketing stay aligned instead of pulling in different directions.

Who do you work with?
Wineries first and foremost — from small estate wineries to fast-growing operations — and the wine-country hospitality groups that operate alongside them, where tasting rooms sit next to lodging, dining, and events. We scale each role to fit where your business actually is.

How do engagements work?
The Fractional CIO/CTO role is available from 10 to 30 hours per week, and typically includes strategic planning, solution design, vendor reviews, and quarterly assessments. The fractional hospitality and member-experience role is scaled to your needs, from a focused engagement to ongoing leadership. Every engagement starts with a free consultation.

What's the story behind the name — and Jerry?
Our logo features Jerry, our basset hound and the original Wine Hound. He's been part of nearly every tasting we've ever hosted and has the best nose in the house. His playful spirit captures everything we bring to our work: fun, warmth, and great taste — without the snobbery.