Charlie Guthrie treats boss's company as if she's owner

MATTAWA – When former R Place Tavern bartender Charlie Guthrie heard about a possible two-day-a-week job at the Ginkgo Forest Winery, she called co-owner Lois Thiede.

After a short phone chat, Lois asked her to come in for a longer chat. Then she chatted with Mike Thiede.

The next day, the Thiedes hired Guthrie, expanded the tasting room hours and made her the tasting room manager. They had finally found the right person to move the company forward. She took over in July.

“Charlie was a godsend, as far as I’m concerned,” Lois said. “She has the right experience and abilities to take what we’ve done at the tasting room and really make a success of it.”

The timing was perfect for the Thiedes. Lois will live in Tri-Cities four days a week this school year so that her daughter can attend a private school. She will work at the winery on weekends.

Of an aggressive personality, Guthrie has been in management nearly all of her working years. After graduation from high school in Spokane she became manager of the clothing store for which she had worked while in school.

Guthrie managed a hardware store in South Dakota and another store in Great Falls, Mont. She managed People for People of Spokane, a private agency that arranged for medical teams from Russia and the U.S. to do exchanges.

“She has the business sense to look at what will be profitable or not,” Lois said.

Guthrie worked for a construction company in Spokane and eventually became a project manager there. That job made for a funny exchange with a worker sent to the project manager’s office.

When Guthrie said, “That’s me,” the worker blurted, “You’re a girl.” She responded: “Yes I am. Gosh, you noticed.”

Guthrie prefers Charlie to her given French name that starts with Char.

Guthrie has hit the ground running. Her first major event was the winery’s recent anniversary celebration. The October wine fest, including a grape stomp, is coming up.

Guthrie has turned a sort of storage room into a small events center. It’s for small groups who desire wine as part of their gathering.

“She’s already re-­arranged the tasting room and gift shop to make them much more attractive and inviting,” Lois said.

Most importantly, Guthrie has immersed herself in wine study. She’s on the Internet and in books and magazines. Already she speaks about the business as if she’s an expert.

Counting about 60 gold medals and higher on the winery’s wall of fame and other locations, Guthrie believes Mike is one of the best wine makers anywhere.

“This product will sell itself,” she said. “All we have to do is get it in front of people.”

Guthrie hopes to build the business to the point the Thiedes can hire a full-time tasting room customer server. That would allow her to get out to events such as Sip of the Slope in Royal City and Art and Wine Walk in Moses Lake. She also hopes for the opportunity to take wines to high end specialty stores in Seattle, Spokane and other Northwest cities.

Meanwhile, Guthrie is looking into the cost of new signage. She’d like to see it at both approaches to the Vantage Bridge on Interstate 90 and highways 26, 243, 24 and 241.

Guthrie does not have free rein to make moves that require investment. Those decisions are made by the Thiedes. But Guthrie is free to dream up ideas and present them.

“My goal is to help them grow,” she said. “My goal is that, between the event center and outside events, that will keep me busy. If I can make money for the Thiedes, then I’m doing my job.”

Guthrie said that already the expanded hours are working. Recent visitors have said they passed by before because the tasting room was not open.

The tasting room is open Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. If things are going well as winter approaches, Guthrie said the Thiedes are thinking about keeping the same schedule through winter.