FOUNDER

After attending college on the East Coast, the Puerto Rican native relocated to Portland in 2003 where he dove headfirst into the food and beverage scene, studying at Le Cordon Bleu’s Western Culinary Institute then taking a job as the wine director at the popular Peruvian tapas bar, Andina. From there, after some time in personal wine buying and work with the then-young spirits market, Oben decided to bring a taste of home to the Northwest with his rum, 7 Sirens launched in 2013. Today William is the founder and owner of Proof Spirits and Wine in Downtown Portland, and after rapid growth, William decided to spend more time with his true passion, wines, with the launch of Cru & Domaine, his specialty and rare wines shop and online store.

GENERAL MANAGER, DIPWSET LEVEL 4, ADV SOMM, CSW

Marissa has an unyielding love for all things grape-related. Her dedication and relentless pursuit of knowledge led her to earn multiple certifications with the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, the Society of Wine Educators, and the Court of Master Sommeliers—and she is currently pursuing her Master Sommelier accreditation.

Marissa shares her passion with others and as a self-proclaimed “wine nerd” will gladly talk about any topic you could think of. She loves to teach educational courses with the talent of making wine approachable and enjoyable for all levels of enthusiasts.

Beyond her work at Cru & Domaine, Marissa stays active in the wine community by mentoring others in their wine certification pursuits, helping with CMS programming in Portland, and encouraging everyone to try new bottles! 

SOMMELIER

Chris studied and worked in a few fields before discovering his passion for wine: politics, government, philosophy, and hospitality. All these fields, according to Chris, require intention, attention, humility, and, most importantly, a desire to learn and continue learning if one is to perform well. He has had stops working in hospitality and wine in Bozeman, Aspen, San Francisco, the Napa Valley, and in 2021 moved to the Willamette Valley. Chris loves talking about farming, history, winemakers, and grapes (and many other topics so be wary about getting him going).  He isn’t joking about humility being an important trait so whether you just discovered blackberries and smoked meats are not physical things added to wine or have years of studying the subject, Chris wants to see you in the shop. Bonus points if you also want to chat about philosophers.