Our Story
Bringing exceptional producers and consumers together...
We are a team of very passionate beverage professionals. SJM Agency started 4 years ago and helps create relationships between like-minded organizations. Our partners, whether here in beautiful BC or all the way in Perugia, Italy, share common goals. We are all family-owned and operated, as sustainable as possible, and use little or no additives in our products. We work with people who respect the land and make beautiful products from their harvests. The majority of our products are farmed organically, and in some cases completely wild and natural.
We are lucky work with our province’s best selection of private stores, top restaurants and hotels.
Liquify: We use Liquify, a BC based software company to process our transactions. Liquify is free to use for all licensee accounts in BC and enables them to place their own orders for SJM Products on their website. By clicking the “BUY NOW” button on each producer page, you will be prompted to sign in to Liquify where you can place your own orders with ease.
Stuart Morton:
Stuart started the agency four years ago as a one-man show after leaving the restaurant industry. He quickly realised the potential of bringing small business owners together. Providing quality products and excellent customer service has grown the business to span the entire province with a team of four. In 2019 we brought in our first imports; organic and natural wines from the Umbria, Italy and Bordeaux, Franc. Stu’s favourite wines are Syrah and Sangiovese, and in his spare time he likes cooking and golf.
Amy Wheatley:
Amy joined the SJM team in 2018. With strong ties to on-premise it was a great fit. Working in the restaurant/ nightclub industry for over 20 years she has a great understanding of the business and customers needs. Amy’s love of wine grew significantly when she worked at Bin 941 in the early 2000. After time she was given the opportunity to Curate the wine lists of both 941 and 942 and that’s when she was hooked. Working and managing some of Vancouvers top wine rooms like The Oakwood and Black and Blue kept Amy connected to the local wine community. Amy has her Wset 2 and plans to take another certification when time permits. Amy services select LRS and on-premise accounts in Vancouver and the North Shore.
Jeff W:
Jeff Co-Founded a premium BC Craft Beverage logistics company in 2012 which became District Transport in 2015 and was acquired by Containerworld in 2017. At Containerworld, Jeff held the position of Manager, Business Development, and worked with over eighty brands and their agents. Working with Stuart and SJM, Jeff realized the potential and made the decision to leave Containerworld in 2019 to join the team. Jeff brings a wealth of industry experience and relationships to the table and is keen to provide
the best possible service to SJM clients and their customers. Jeff works under the SJM Brand throughout the province and also operates a newly formed division of SJM called Balance Beverages for clients that are outside of the SJM scope.
Under Balance Beverages Jeff is the Brand Manager for St. Hubertus and Oak Bay.
Sirpa Puolitaipale:
Sirpa has over a decade of experience in the wine industry in BC. She started in the wine business on the retail side managing several VQA stores before moving on to SJM Agency. She has taken multiple wine courses with International Sommelier Guild, Guild of Sommeliers and is currently in the middle of WSET Diploma studies. She loves to share her wine finds with her friends and her Toastmasters group where she’s perfecting her educational speaking skills. In wine, she values finesse, personality and originality. When wine is not on her mind (which is almost never) she heads out to Tofino for surfing and camping or explores beautiful BC with her husband, two kids and dog.
Sirpa serves Tri-Cities and Fraser Valley.