About Metro Wines

Gina Trippi,
Owner

An 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, 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!

Kristen Calloway WSET 2
General Manager

Kristen Calloway joined Metro Wines in 2019 and has served as General Manager since 2023. She holds the WSET Level 2 Award in Wines with Distinction and brings a knowledgeable but decidedly unpretentious approach to wine.

As General Manager, Kristen oversees the day-to-day operations of Metro Wines, including staff, sales, events and the countless details that keep an independent wine shop running. She believes wine should be approachable, interesting and, above all, fun, without the pretension that can sometimes surround it.

Outside of Metro Wines, Kristen is a professional makeup artist and co-owner of Doll Box Beauty, specializing in bridal beauty. When she isn't working, she enjoys cooking, traveling, fantasy football, and spending time with her husband and their three cats.

Julie Porter-Shirley, WSET 2
Floor Manager & Wedding Specialist

Julie brings a thoughtful, people-centered approach to her role at Metro Wines, shaped by a diverse background in marketing, elementary education, and nonprofit work. A graduate of the University of California, Irvine and Louisiana State University, Julie has spent much of her career supporting organizations that uplift teachers and students, developing a strong foundation in communication, service, and community engagement.

What began as a temporary holiday position at Metro Wines quickly turned into a lasting passion. Four years later, Julie manages the front of the shop and specializes in helping couples select wines that elevate their wedding celebrations. With her WSET Level 2 certification and a genuine love of hospitality, she takes pride in making wine approachable, personal, and memorable for every customer.

An Asheville resident of over 22 years, Julie raised her two sons in the mountains she now proudly calls home. When she's not in the shop, you can find her enjoying the outdoors, biking, running, hiking, or relaxing on her front porch with her husband, friends, and a perfectly chosen glass of wine.

Andy Hale CSW
Wine Buyer & Director of Education

Andy Hale has worked in the wine and hospitality industry for more than 25 years. He began his career in restaurants, eventually working as a sommelier at the five-star, five-diamond Sanctuary Hotel on Kiawah Island outside Charleston, South Carolina. After a stint in wine distribution, he returned to retail and joined Metro Wines, where he now serves as Wine Buyer and Director of Education.

At Metro, Andy is responsible for selecting wines for the shop, working with importers and distributors, and helping customers navigate everything from everyday bottles to rare and collectible wines. His approach to wine is decidedly unpretentious: he believes good wine education should make people more curious and confident, not make wine feel more intimidating.

A Certified Specialist of Wine, Andy has spent years teaching classes, leading public and private tastings, and giving lectures and seminars throughout Western North Carolina. He teaches wine courses at AB Technical Community College and has presented programs at UNC Asheville, in addition to hosting educational events for private groups, businesses, and community organizations.

Whether he's teaching a classroom, leading a tasting, or helping someone choose a bottle for dinner, Andy's favorite part of the job is encouraging people to step outside their comfort zones and discover wines they might never have tried on their own.

A native North Carolinian and graduate of Appalachian State University, Andy spent several years in Charleston before returning to the mountains of Western North Carolina. Outside of wine, he enjoys cooking, hiking, martial arts, and spending time with his daughter, Josie.

Lou Collichio,
Operations & Delivery. Beer Guy!

Lou joined the Metro Wines team ten years ago, bringing with him 28 years of industry experience. He began his career in New Jersey, first managing a small wine shop before working as a beer buyer and assistant store manager for a chain of beer, wine, and spirits stores.

After moving to Asheville in 2006, Lou worked as a beer and wine buyer for both Greenlife Grocery and Whole Foods before joining the Metro Wines team. His passion for craft beer goes all the way back to the early days of the American craft beer movement, and nearly four decades later, that enthusiasm hasn't gone anywhere.

But it's not just beer. Lou has also passed the Introductory Sommelier Examination through the Court of Master Sommeliers, giving him plenty of wine knowledge to go along with those 38 years behind the beer cooler.

At Metro, Lou keeps things moving, quite literally. As our delivery driver, he spends much of his time on the road making sure orders get where they need to go, while his decades of industry experience make him an invaluable part of the team back at the shop.

Lou is a drummer and vocalist, and you can catch him performing around Asheville with The Brue. When he's not at Metro or behind the drum kit, Lou enjoys spending time with his son, cooking, writing music, and getting outside to enjoy the great outdoors.

Bridget Kelly
Sales Consultant

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.