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Our
wine staff is the best in the state, people who share our
core values of customer service, straightforward advice
and a passion for wine. We taste 400-600 wines a month and
select only a small percentage of those. We only buy
what we believe in, at every price level, in every appellation.
We have
logged countless miles worldwide, traveling to numerous
wine-growing regions, including France, California, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and New Zealand.
We travel overseas at least three times a year to taste
barrel samples and meet with the growers, ensuring that
the products we bring to our customers are the best in quality
and value.
Meet
Us
Doug
Rosen
Shemsedin
Hassen
Jim
Cutts
Graham
Reid
Perry
Soulos
Kathleen
Calnan
Mike
Feeney
Doug
Rosen - Owner
 Doug
started his wine career in 1977 working at Cheese and Bottle,
in the very spot where Arrowine is now. He has worked
for most of the leading wine shops in the area, Pearson's,
Central Liquor, Larimer's Market and Morris Miller. While
at Morris Miller, Doug developed over 20 exclusive winery
relationships, bringing such wineries as Au Bon Climat,
Qupe, Babcock, Rosenblum, Nalle, Claiborne and Churchill,
Storrs, Hop Kiln, Lazy Creek and many others to the D.C.
market.
In 1993,
he took a six-year hiatus from the wine industry, and as
part of the management team helped to successfully establish
Starbucks on the East Coast.
While
at Starbucks, Doug took several trips to France on his own
time and dime to taste wines with his friend, importer Robert
Kacher. These trips convinced him that his heart was still
in the wine business, so in 1999 he became the managing
partner of Arrowine and shortly thereafter bought out his
partners.
Doug has made Arrowine a destination for wine and food lovers.
He travels at least three times a year to wine-producing
countries to find high quality and value wine, many of which
are exclusive to Arrowine.
He has been quoted in the International Wine Cellar and
has been a guest on WAMU's "Kojo Nnamdi Show."
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Shemsedin
Hassen - Owner
A refugee from war-torn Ethiopia, Shemsedin Hassen (Shem)
arrived in the United States in 1987 with literally nothing.
The son of a politician, Shem was trained as an electrician,
but first found work in the U.S. as a bus boy at the Holiday
Inn on Rhode Island Avenue. In 1989, he applied for a job
as a stock person at Northwest Washington's Morris Miller
Wine & Liquors. Then-manager Doug Rosen discovered that
Shem was a natural, having the finest palate he had ever
encountered and began introducing him to the world of fine
wine.
Shem spent more than a decade at Morris Miller, becoming
a co-owner of the Washington, DC, institution in 1996. He
has combined his passion for and knowledge of wine with
a keen business acumen. In 2004, he joined Doug Rosen again;
this time as his partner at Arrowine.
Shem has traveled extensively, seeking out quality and value
for his wine customers. While he favors no particular country,
Shem has a depth of knowledge in wines from California and
Bordeaux.
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Jim
Cutts
Jim first became seriously interested in wine more than
15 years ago. He was in law school in Richmond, VA, needed
a part-time job to earn a little money, saw an ad about
a part-time job at a wine shop, and thought it sounded like
fun. It didn't take Jim long to realize he loved it! When
he graduated and moved to Falls Church, he was out of the
wine business for several years, but still liked to talk
about wine, read about wine, travel to wineries, and drink
good wine with friends whenever possible. Though he was
practicing law, he regularly shopped at Arrowine. It was
a fun place to spend time (and money) and in 2001 he joined
Arrowine as a part-timer, helping out on evenings and weekends
when his legal practice allowed. That's when he really "caught
the bug" and in 2002, Jim became part of Arrowine's
full-time staff.
Jim
is interested in all kinds of wine, and enjoys when a customer
tells him that a wine he recommended made a meal better;
whether it was a $6.99 red wine that made Tuesday night's
spaghetti dinner seem kind of special or a single vineyard
Barolo that made a 20th Anniversary dinner even more memorable.
Jim's particular vinous passion is for the wines of Italy.
He has traveled to Italy each of the last 7 years and attended
VinItaly in 2006 and 2007. Italy's wine scene is incredibly
vast, diverse, and fast changing and Jim's knowledge and
contacts in the area help keep Arrowine's Italian selections
fresh, current, and exciting, the best in the area.
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Graham
Reid
 Graham is now
in his second tour of duty at Arrowine. He first joined the Arrowine
team in 2001 after being a wine buyer for Sutton Place Gourmet/Balduccis.
Originally trained as a classical concert pianist (two tours
of Europe and U.S.), Graham first discovered a passion for
wines while living in Europe. Even though Munich and Salzburg
are beer towns, it was the white wines of Germany and the
red wines of Italy that captivated his greatest interest.
Working for the NATA travel office in conjunction with the
local Les Amis du Vin, he organized wine tours in Germany,
Italy, Alsace, Burgundy, and Champagne.
Upon returning to the U.S., he started a side business (from
1992 to 1998) called Vino Vivace, which offered wine education
courses to groups and corporations. Graham appreciated Arrowine’s
approach to educating consumers through informative tastings
and newsletters which featured small quality-driven producers
over the mass market national brands seen elsewhere.
Since
re-joining Arrowine in 2006, Graham has traveled to Italy, Spain and
France as part of a continuing in-depth exploration of the
major wine regions. Other than German and Italian wines,
Graham also has a soft spot for quality wines of California
and Oregon, especially pinot noir. He enjoys sharing his
enthusiasm for wine with others.
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Perry
Soulos
 Your
“local cheese and beer man,” Perry is responsible
for our excellent and extensive selection of cheese, meat
and beer. Starting here as a high school student in 2001, Perry
has acquired a tremendous depth
of knowledge from his on-site training and many mentors.
Over the years, he has willingly been exposed to the best
of the best in the world of cheese and great food. Working
closely with fellow cheesemonger Aldo Molina, Perry has
grown the cheese and meat selection to one of the best in
the Washington metro area. Every summer Perry attends the
Fancy Food Show in New York to search for new
and exciting cheeses and charcuterie to share with everyone
at Arrowine. On these trips he “suffers” through
hundreds of cheeses and meats, bringing back only the best
of the show.
Perry’s
passion for good food grows every day, and he is amazed
and excited for the future of good food. Perry is also responsible
for Arrowine’s amazing beer selection. In his earlier
days he stood by the beer sidelines, but since turning 21,
he has been avidly cultivating the department, focusing
on procuring an eclectic, interesting, and tasty a selection
of rare and delicious beers from small microbreweries in
the U.S., Canada, Belgium, Germany, and the rest of Europe,
and loves to share his experiences with all who visit
Arrowine.
If you’ve
found an exceptional item you’d like to share with
Perry and Arrowine, please email us at info@arrowine.com.
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Kathleen
Calnan
 Kathleen's
interest in food began when she was a grade-schooler living
in Port Marly, a town on the outskirts of Paris. Her family's
row house was next door to Le Relais de Marly, the town
restaurant, and Kathleen would stand in her courtyard, taking
in all the wondrous and intriguing aromas. These aromas
sparked her imagination, and her food curiosity hasn't stopped
since.
She joined the Arrowine team in 1990. As business
manager and specialty food buyer, she brings us both her
background in business and her passion for food.
Kathleen enjoys wearing many hats at Arrowine, from the
day-to-day running of the business, to searching out new
food items.
Be sure to email her kcalnan@arrowine.com
with your new epicurean finds, or with special order items.
She'll be happy to see if we can bring them to Arrowine.
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Mike
Feeney
 Mike
Feeney learned to appreciate the virtues of wine while stationed
in the Mediterranean with the military. The beer was too
warm to drink and you didn't trust the ice in your soda.
Good wine was affordable and readily available. While trying
all the new and exciting Mediterranean foods it seemed that
they would harmonize so much better with the local
wines.
Back in the States, Mike got caught up in the frenzy from
the 1982 Bordeaux harvest. He heeded Robert Parker's advice
to "run, don't walk" to his local retailer to
snatch up as many bargains as possible. (Mike once even
called his mother from his ship stationed in Norfolk to
have her fight through a mob to get him a case of Cornas.)
While going to school in Washington, he put his computer
skills to use by designing and printing wine menus. He needed
to learn more about the wines to write the descriptions,
so he started reading wine books and bothering the wine
staff with lots of questions. One of the stores hired him
for the holidays and he’s now been at Arrowine for
more than 20 years.
While there are few wines and foods that Mike does not like,
he has a special love for the wines of Europe, including
Bordeaux.
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