Our Team
Danielle Nichols
Danielle has never been afraid to go a little off-piste in search of the best terrain. A Stowe, Vermont native with over a decade of experience coaching skiers around the country, she’s always had a knack for finding adventure—both on and off the hill.
Her travels took her to world-class ski destinations across Austria, Chile, and New Zealand, where she discovered something else worth chasing: gluggable, authentic natural wine. That passion led to the opening of Cork Waterbury in 2011, with a simple goal—to bring thoughtfully made natural wines from around the world back home to Vermont.
In 2015, Danielle put down roots in Stowe and opened Cork Stowe, balancing restaurant life with her husband, two kids, two donkeys, several chickens, and a goat. While she fondly remembers the Waterbury location, the Stowe restaurant has evolved into something even more special—a community-driven, farm-to-table restaurant and natural wine bar that continues to grow in ways she never imagined.
Then again, the best trails are often the ones you make yourself.
You might just share a gondola ride with Danielle this season. And if (when) she smokes you on the hill, at least there’s après at Cork to make everything better.
Founder
Katie Nichols
Katie can still remember the bottle that made her want to work in the wine world: Lamoresca Nerocapitano, an old-vine Frappato from Sicily—tenacious, earthy, complex, and just a little untamed. While she’d bartended for her big sister in the past, Katie fully immersed herself in wine after landing a job slinging bottles at The Wine Bottega in Boston’s North End.
On just her second day—armed with a case of full-blown bronchitis—she hopped on a one-day trip to New York City for a major Dressner Selections trade tasting. As Katie often says, sometimes you’ve just got to send it.
After two years in Boston, Katie and her now-husband Stephen returned home to Stowe, Vermont in 2015 to help Danielle get Cork off the ground. Today, as General Manager and Wine Director, she oversees both restaurant and retail operations, curates Cork’s ever-evolving natural wine program, and runs the Cork Wine Club—hand-selecting bottles each month that reflect her love of expressive, low-intervention wines and thoughtful producers (yes, Nerocapitano is still on the shelves).
A lover of Italian fizz and artful concepts, Katie thrives in the organized chaos of running a natural wine and cocktail bar, restaurant, market, and wine club in one of Vermont’s busiest tourist towns. She doesn’t cruise. She sends it.
General Manager & Wine Director