About us

Debbie’s vision for Ellen’s was different verses a tradition wine and spirit store. Her vision was based on being user friendly and welcoming. She designed the store by price, organizing by a color-coding system, user friendly emojis for tasting notes, and offers great quality wines and spirits that will not break the bank.

THE INSPIRATION BEHIND ELLEN’S:
Organizing by price
When I walked into a wine store for the first few times it was so overwhelming. I did not know where to go, but I also didn’t want to ask for help. This experience is one of the inspiration behind the organization of Ellen’s. I wanted to create a wine and spirits store that was user friendly and easy to navigate. This is why Ellen’s is broken down into different price points. Most people do not know what they want to drink but they know how much money they have to spend. Having most of the store organized by categories is more user friendly.

Color-coded The store is color-coded with colored stickers. The color-coding make it easy for shoppers to pick out what they want to support.
💕 (pink) represents female power. This might be a female owned winery or distillery. Pink also represents female winemaker, assistant winemaker, distiller, or a strong female presence in the corporation.
💜(purple) represents minorities. Minorities are underrepresented in the wine and spirits industry. Did you know out of 11,000 wineries in California only 1% is African American owned? Let’s support, these businesses all year round. Minorities include Asian, Hispanic, and African.
🧡 (orange) represents organic including certified and practicing organic farming.
💚 (green) represents biodynamic including certified and practicing biodynamic farming.
💙 (blue) represents Kosher.
💛 (yellow) represents off-dry to sweet wines, cocktails, cider, etc.

Tasting notes & emoji’s I believe finding a wine or spirit you love to drink should be easy. This is why I choose to describe our products with emojis. Emojis are easy and fun to understand for everyone.

Sommelier Debbie Jones began working in professional kitchens at a young age, which helped her to develop her passion for the culinary arts. She went on to attend the Culinary Institute of America and during her studies, she completed an intensive three-week wine course that changed her career trajectory, clearing a path for her to the fine dining industry. Upon her graduation from the CIA, Debbie moved to New York and she worked for Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, Del Posto where she remained for four years. During this time, Debbie obtained her diploma from the Wine Spirit Education Trust and became a Certified Sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers. Then, she became the Wine Director at Michelin-starred Musket Room before joining the Jungsik team in August 2020 as the Head Sommelier .
In January 2023 Debbie joined Clover Hill. It is Debbie’s passion and experience in all facets of the culinary arts that truly set her apart as a sommelier because by drawing from her background, she is able to develop unique wine pairings for each dish.

Though Debbie has a resume with many Michelin-starred restaurants she had a dream. She never thought the wine store would come to fruition. When one door closes another one opens, you just need the courage to walk through the door. During the pandemic Debbie, like many others was let go. While in isolation she began building a plan for Ellen’s. With a lot of help along the way Ellen’s Wines & Spirits celebrated the store’s grand opening November 2022. Ellen’s Wines & Spirits was named after the strong females in Debbie’s family. Ellen is Debbie’s middle name, not only her middle name but a family name. Women in the wine industry are still few and far between. Here at Ellen’s we represent the underrepresented.