Jason Nolley started his career in the business in the great wine state of Tennessee. Landing in Colorado to finish a Bachelor of Science degree, Jason fell into his life’s passion and career. After opening back-to-back-to-back restaurants as wine director and spending years in wine distribution, Jason eventually moved to New York City to hone his craft.
Jason spent time not only selling, but buying products from across the globe at the cutting edge of the wine and spirits industry, leading top sales teams in NYC and building a portfolio of 70+ international producers. During these years Jason spent time as a wine educator on panels at Aspen Food & Wine, lead seminars at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, presented as lead sommelier at De Gustibus Cooking School in NYC, and served as educator at countless restaurant and distributor trainings. Over the following 13 years, Jason traveled, hosted, and met many of the world’s greatest distillers, brewers, and winemakers.
From the Spring of 2019 to today, the wine journey has brought Jason to downtown Charleston. From April 2021 to December 2025, Jason owned and ran Jessamine + Vine, the top fine wine and craft spirits shop on the peninsula and a go-to place for environmentally conscious, family-owned, and hard-to-find bottles. Today he runs his own Sommelier consulting business, Henly Consultants for projects across the South and the Lowcountry. Proud to have joined the local wine community, Jason served as CHSWF’s Beverage Specialist for the 2023 festival.
4:00 pm - 5:15 pm
