The Story of Volio
Mission
Volio’s mission is to bring the consumer experience closer to the vineyard experience. As an importer of European fine wine we do this by empowering our carefully selected network of distributors, retailers, and restaurateurs with meaningful communication, a relentless commitment to wine education, and unparalleled customer service.
Vision
For every customer to know the journey behind each bottle of wine.
Quality
The natural byproduct of caring genuinely about the product as well as the people who create it.
Education
A source of information for consumers and an outlet for creators. Helping form opinions on wine; building a benchmark. Providing more than just a bottle of wine, providing an experience.
Honesty
Straightforward and to the point. Providing truth and information in a clear and concise method.
Approachability
Using positive experiences and attitudes to guide anyone looking to learn about wine. A source of information. Building a community of like minded individuals—built around wine.
Connectivity
Building relationships and connecting consumers to creators. Using honest education to foster a community of people hoping to grow and learn from their own experiences.
The Team
Charles Lazzara
Founder and President
Charles Lazzara started Volio Imports over ten years ago, at the age of 25, with modest intentions of promoting undiscovered, high quality wine producers from Italy back in Colorado. As the owner and President of Volio, Charles can often be found sitting in the cheap seat on economy flights around the US, Italy, France, or Spain. He is always trying to connect with customers and our network of relationships around the globe. He has led seminars on Italian wine around the US and been invited to participate at internationally renowned wine events like Aspen Food & Wine, Telluride Wine Festival, and Vinitaly.
The sale of Volio Distribution in 2017 allowed Charles to dedicate his time and energy to Volio Imports’ strategic growth, as well as spend more time with his amazing wife (Angela) and two young boys (Lorenzo and Tommaso).
Whether in Colorado, Europe, or in between, Charles is always surrounded by the people and places who inspired it all.
Elisa Ballard
Director of Operations
Elisa is no stranger to global engagement. After spending her childhood visiting family in Italy, studying abroad for a semester in Bologna, and working for the European Union at Milan’s World Fair, Expo 2015, it seemed only natural to pursue a career in Italian wine. And it doesn’t hurt that she has dual citizenship, speaks fluent Italian, and spends as much time as possible at her house just north of Rome. Prior to Volio, Elisa worked for MISA Imports, an importer and distributor in Dallas, TX as their Marketing and Sales Support Director. This role built on her background in international marketing and media consulting while exposing her to the world of international wine sourcing and bespoke programming. At Volio, Elisa works across departments and across borders, investing heavily in producer relationships, leading product innovation, and managing strategic national sales opportunities. Joining Volio also allowed Elisa to realize her dream of returning to the beautiful state of CO, where she received an MBA in Marketing and Finance and BA in Management and Economics from the University of Denver. She is the perfect addition to our Denver-based Volio clan: mountain-lover, Italian connoisseur, and proud dog mama of a German Shepherd Husky mix pup, Dakota.
Blake Eve
Director of Marketing
If Volio were a rock band, Blake would be the badass, über-cool, poker-faced bassist keeping everyone grooving steady. As Director of Marketing, Blake’s job is highly strategic. She steers Volio straight and true through all manner of growth, branding, and operational challenges, which, of course, she does with great tact and grace. Blake was Volio Imports’ first full-time hire in September 2017 and has both directly fueled and witnessed the remarkable growth the company has experienced over the last two years. She’ll be the one taking litigious notes on every call, following up with impressive detail, and always available to problem solve. She’s a “boulder” in a “rock” band (ba-dum-tsshh).
Kelsey Peterson
Content Marketing Manager
Kelsey is a content guru and multimedia storyteller with a knack for innovative information sharing, remote filming, and cross-cultural communication. With an extensive background in travel journalism, her vigor for human connectedness and global perspectives has led her to over 30 countries around the world. She received her M.A. in broadcast production at the National Film School in Dublin, Ireland, and her B.A. in journalism and media communication with a triple minor in music; political science; and music, stage and sports production at Colorado State University. Hauling a backpack of experience in marketing and communications roles from companies like Semester at Sea, INTO CSU, and Grit Digital Health, Kelsey leverages her digital media and content creation expertise by amplifying the stories woven within a wine’s journey from soil to shelf. As a singer-songwriter with a robust musical spirit, she can also be found on Spotify.
Giovanna Mazzotta
Marketing & Operations Intern
Giovanna yet again grew Volio’s contingent of brilliant Italians when she joined the team as a marketing and operations intern in June, 2021. Giovanna is a native of Vicenza, Italy and moved to the United States in 2017. Like many Italians, she grew up surrounded by history, art, and, of course, wine. Before moving to the US, Giovanna worked in event planning and tourism. Driven by her passion for the wine world, she earned a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines while living in Washington, D.C. and has been working in the wine industry since. From working as a sales consultant to planning corporate staff trainings and wine dinners, Giovanna has always taken pleasure in sharing the rich culture and traditions behind every bottle. And she continues to grow her toolbox of skills as she pursues a degree in business and marketing…so she basically embodies the word “multifaceted.” When she’s not working or studying, Giovanna loves traveling with her husband, lifting weights, baking, and taking too many pictures of her cat.
James Moll
Regional Sales Director
James Moll is Volio’s smooth-talking, glass-swirling salesperson. He has the Texas boots to match any Barolo or Brunello. A Dallas native with more than 20 years of experience in a broad range of management positions, James has worked with some of the world’s most successful wine companies. In his decades in the business, he has built a deep network of colleagues and industry contacts, including strong distributor relationships throughout the country. Most recently, James led operations and sales teams in six states for Esprit Du Vin (EDV), a fine wine division of Palm Bay International. James lives in Dallas, TX and manages six markets in the Southwest region of the US. His good humor and humility make him a great dinner date on supplier visits.
Sarah Shomaker
Regional Sales Director
Sarah cut her teeth in the restaurant industry at age 15 and hasn’t slowed down since. After a stint in Philadelphia for college, she returned to her native CO and worked in management at St. Julien Hotel and Spa, Osteria Marco, and Bones from Bonanno Concepts. Sarah’s unflinching love for Volio and its producers was sparked in 2011 when she traveled to Italy with Charles as a buyer. Shortly thereafter, she joined the Volio Distribution sales team, where she stayed until the sale of the company in 2017. If you think she deserves her cape just for that (and she does), Sarah is also the co-creator of Natural Wine Week and the Women’s Wine Guild of Colorado as well as the fearless leader of her sons’ school’s PTA. Sarah loves living in sunny Denver with her husband, two boys–Oliver and Theodore–and four rescue animals. We are thrilled to welcome her back into the Volio Imports family in 2019 as Regional Sales Director, covering the Western states.
Sarah Newman
Regional Sales Director
Giulia Cecchi
Regional Sales Director / Cecchi BA
Dino Marone
CA Sales Director
Born in Florence, Italy in 1968 (a very happening time to enter the world!) he started in restaurant and hospitality at 18 with a deep passion for food and wine, inherited from his
grandparents and parents. After 13 years of numerous hotel, restaurant, cruise ship, and private residence positions, he opened both a restaurant in the Chianti area of Tuscany and a wine bar in Florence’s historic district. In 2005, Dino made his move to the US, landing in California to discover the very-different American food and wine business. Through it all, he achieved his Silver Pin Sommelier Certification with NASA/WSA with the distinction of finishing first in his class. He quickly followed that with a Certified Sommelier certification in the Court of Master Sommeliers and was hired as wine director at Nerano in Beverly Hills in 2018. The following year, Dino started a new wine journey with Strategic Group in the role of Wine Specialist. In a perfect continuation of this Italy-US fusion wine career, Dino joined Volio as their Regional Sales Director in California in June, 2021.
Jeremy Adona
Regional Sales Director / Fantinel BA
As the world entered the new millennium, Jeremy moved to Manhattan to continue his career as a singer/songwriter after a backpacking journey throughout Europe convinced him that he needed to be in the “Big Apple.” He had started working in restaurants before he could legally drive and so was instantly enamored with the city’s vibrant culinary scene. In a twist of fate, it was taking a bartending gig where his bass player waited tables that put Jeremy on to the wine path.The opportunity to taste fine wines from around the world on a daily basis inspired him to continue his wine education. Music and wine held so many parallels: history, romance, diversity, poetry…he was hooked. After earning multiple wine certifications from the American Sommelier Association and WSET, he started a new career as a Sommelier. The experience he gained working at some of the best restaurants in New York City put him on a path to becoming part owner and beverage director of the Michelin Star restaurant Meadowsweet in Brooklyn. After several successful years there he was ready for the next challenge. Taking a job with a wine importer seemed like precisely the right thing to do!
Jeremy arrived at Volio in June, 2021 with a wealth of experience at the distributor and supplier level, having worked his way through the ranks with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and all of the individual experiences the wine world has to offer.
