Wineries and Winemaking

Castle Rock Winery has appointed Heather Freyer as sales vice president. She will lead Castle Rock’s sales effort in all markets of the US. Freyer was previously with Young’s Market Company as vice president and wine manager for Southern California. She has spent over 14 years in the wine business, including assignments as a district manager for Southern Wine & Spirits and as assistant manager and wine buyer for Cost Plus World Market.

Missouri’s Chaumette Vineyards & Winery hired a new winemaker, Mark Baehmann. Baehmann has been making wine for 25 years and spent the past 17 years as winemaker at Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta, Missouri. Baehmann has resided in Missouri for 29 years. While at Mount Pleasant, he oversaw all vineyard and winery operations.

Adelsheim Vineyard in Newberg, Oregon named Catherine Badrak as the new marketing and communications manager. Her responsibilities include planning, directing and implementing all marketing and communications activities and communicating consistent messages across print and electronic media. She will be the principal point of contact for wine media going forward. Originally from Michigan, Badrak most recently worked as sales and marketing manager for Rockburn Wines in Central Otago, New Zealand. She earned her postgraduate diploma in Wine Business from the University of Adelaide in South Australia in November 2007.

Distributors, Importers & Retailers

Adler Fels general manager Steve Lindsay is joining O’Neill Vintners and Distillers as senior vice president of sales and marketing. O’Neill Vintners and Distillers is an outsourcing company that makes wine for U.S. and export customers, similar to Golden State Vintners, which was acquired by The Wine Group a few years ago. Lindsay joined Adler Fels in 2005 and, before that, worked for Trinchero Family Estates, Golden State Vintners and Winery Exchange.

The Hess Collection promoted Gary Bulger to president. Bulger began his tenure with The Hess Collection Winery in 1995 as the central region sales manager. In 2000, he became national sales manager and the following year was promoted to vice president. Since 2003, Bulger has held the position of senior vice president and director of sales. Bulger replaces Tom Selfridge, president of The Hess Collection since September 2005 who has joined the board of Hess Family. Jill Goodrich-Collas, who has been with The Hess Collection since 2001, has been promoted from California state manager to the position of national sales manager.

Don Cook has been named regional sales manager for Goelet Wine Estates the Northwest. GWE produces, markets and sells the wines of Clos Du Val (Napa Valley), Taltarni Vineyards (Victoria, Australia) Clover Hill and Lalla Gully (Tasmania, Australia) and Domaine de Nizas (Languedoc, France). The company also launched its first New Zealand brand (Marlborough) called KATO on July 1.

Michelle Pae has been promoted from senior director, national accounts to vice president of national accounts at Terlato Wines. Ed Melia, meanwhile, has been promoted from New England regional sales manager to the newly created position eastern sales director, estate selections, responsible for North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Maryland, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Industry Suppliers & Services

Leah Jorgensen, a communications expert who has worked in the wine industry for a decade, is now offering marketing and communication solutions for small to mid-sized wineries in the Pacific Northwest. Jorgensen was the director of marketing and communication at Adelsheim Vineyard, communications manager at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (working specifically with luxury brands, including Erath Winery, Northstar, Spring ValleyVineyard and Col Solare) and national sales and marketing specialist at Erath Vineyards. Jorgensen served as a founding board member for the Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association and on the marketing committee for the Chehalem Mountains Winegrowers Association. She co-produces the Best of Oregon Food & Wine Festival. She founded comPASSION for Wine as a conduit for scheduling wine industry related events to benefit Portland-area non-profit programs and organizations. Jorgensen specializes in helping wineries tell their unique stories, including storyboarding and brand development, collateral design, label/packaging, website analysis and maintenance, social media, event planning, press kit development, writing press releases, media pitching strategies and mindful media sampling.

M.A. Silva Corks, USA announced the appointment of Lissa Barstow to the position of account manager. Her territory covers the Santa Cruz Mountains, Livermore Valley and the Central Valley as well as parts of Napa and Sonoma counties. Barstow joined the company in May, bringing over 11 years of sales and management experience with her from Wine Warehouse and Centerra Wine Company (Constellation Brands, Inc.) where she worked her way up to the position of district manager. She graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor of arts in social work, and currently resides in Santa Rosa.

Bacchus Capital Management, LLC, a San Francisco-based investment firm specializing in mezzanine and private equity wine industry investments, announced the appointment of Quinton Jay as managing director. The company is said to have raised $36 million thus far. Most recently, Jay was vice president and general manager at Artesa Winery and Vineyards. He was managing director of Bacchus Consulting Group, which he founded in 2001. Prior to Bacchus Consulting, he was general manager of Bonny Doon Vineyard. He began his career in the beverage industry in brand management and strategic planning at Coca-Cola.

Clay Wallen has joined consulting firm Vintank as new business development/operations specialist. Wallen founded Terra Sage Corporation which has been providing strategic consulting services and software to the “beverage alcohol” industry since 1999. Wallen also co-founded eSkye Solutions in early 1999 and served as vice president of commercial operations and then vice president of sales. Most recently Wallen was executive vice president sales and marketing with Compli, Inc., a winery compliance services and software firm in Paso Robles, California. Amy Atwood has also joined Vintank. Atwood was a partner and beverage manager for the Lulu Monsoon hospitality group in Melbourne, Australia from 1997 to 2002. She has also held positions with wine wholesalers, both as a fine wine specialist (Glazer’s) and as a state sales manager (Virtuoso Selections).

Wine Associations

Clay Gregory assumed the reins of the The Napa Valley Destination Council in July as president and chief executive officer. Gregory was previously the president of Kendall-Jackson and prior to that was the general manager of Robert Mondavi Winery. He’s lived in Napa Valley for 20 years and served as president of the Napa Valley Vintners in 2003. The council is a nonprofit trade association representing the Napa Valley’s visitor-serving industry. Prior to moving to Napa Valley, Gregory worked in marketing for Motorola Computer Systems in Cupertino.

Two new commissioners and three incumbents have been elected to the Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission (MWWC) Board of Directors, which is also seeking a new president. Incumbents Rich Schaefers of Beckstoffer Vineyards, Norma Gibson of Hillside Vineyards and Peter Chevalier of Chevalier Vineyard Management remain for second terms representing producers. Chris Nelson of Nelson Vineyards replaces departing Gary Smith of Smith Vineyards. Tim Thornhill of Mendocino Wine Company replaces Arnaud Weyrich of Roederer Estate in the sole open vintner slot. Commissioners serve two-year terms and began their service at the August Board of Directors meeting. The organization is also preparing to launch a search for a full time in-house president. Paige Poulos, who served as president of the Commission from May 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 under a management contract with Paige Poulos Communications, Inc., agreed with the decision as the best course of action for the organization and its constituents. “The Commission needs a full-time dedicated chief executive,” Poulos said. “This is more true than ever in a market that continues to be challenging on every front.” Board chairman Rich Schaefers
will execute the duties of the president in the interim, a dual role allowed in the by-laws.

Obituary

Susan Cagann, special counsel at Farella Braun & Martel, died July 2, 2009
following hospitalization for a brain aneurysm that struck in late June. She was 49. A business lawyer in the firm’s San Francisco office, Cagann represented companies in the wine, food and retail industries and also served on the executive board at Women for WineSense. Before joining Farella, her experience included work in the corporate legal departments at Safeway Inc. and Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates. Cagann is survived by husband Chuck Finnie, sons Tad, 17, and Will, 14; her mother, Alyce; sister Gwenn; and brothers Roger and Robb. Donations can be made to The Brain Aneurysm Foundation, 269 Hanover St., Building 3, Hanover, MA 02339. A college fund also has been set up for her sons. Information on that, as well as memories of Cagann, are being posted online at www.caringbridge.org/visit/cagann. wbm