Rooted in the Napa Valley since 1985

Saint Helena, CA

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Every day, I pinch myself at my good fortune to live the thrill ride of a lifetime immersed in wine. I began my career at a family winery with a thirst to learn and a willingness to take on any project. I moved forward in the industry and was honored with leadership roles as Creative Director at Chandon Estates, Constellation Brands, and online retailer Wine.com. In 2001, with great enthusiasm and opportunity knocking on my door, I opened my marketing and design studio, Creative Solutions.

 

My first client was Warren Winiarski, famed owner of Stags Leap Wine Cellars. Renowned for his history-making success at the Judgement of Paris Wine Competition, my first consulting job landed me working alongside one the wine industry's most exacting titans. Our first project, refresh the SLWC Hawk Crest tier label. The success of the Hawk Crest project lead to another and I soon became became the marketing and sales teams' go-to external / internal designer.

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Good news travels quickly around the valley and project referrals came in quickly.

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From an introduction made by a local printer, I began my journey with Schrader Cellars in 2002. When I arrived at Schrader, annual production was just shy of 400 cases, ledgers were handwritten, retail sales were made via paper order forms received on a single-line fax machine, and customer service was, well, modest. The great news, rising talent Thomas Rivers Brown was the winemaker.

 

Thomas had crafted an old vine Zinfandel he and Fred were calling Vieux-Os loosely meaning "old bones". The wine was bottled in distinctive shiners, custom molded double amber glass with dentil work around the bottom and a soft slump shoulder emblazoned with a signature S cartouche. This was not your typical Napa Valley wine glass. Working with a historic engraving of a vine growing through a tree, I created an arresting label design to complement the rare glass form and during the process, set my path with Fred, Thomas and the Schrader team.

 

In short order, I expanded my role beyond design and set my energies on advancing the organization to complement Thomas' benchmark wines. Processes and communications were streamlined, and online sales and customer service programs were created with attention to ease of interface and integrity. 

 

Everything coalesced perfectly at Schrader. Phenomenal wines were complemented by a no-holds-barred focus on packaging, sales, logistics, and customer service. Lifted by Thomas' prodigious talent, best business practices, and tremendous customer enthusiasm, the timing was right and I participated in the successful sale of the Schrader and Double Diamond brands to Constellation Brands.

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In addition to my 20 years experience with Schrader, for more than a decade, I guided the brand and business development for Boars' View Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Today, it is my joy and privilege to provide consulting services for design, marketing, and promotion to luxury brands throughout wine country.

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My experience centers on leadership, team building, creative development, branding, marketing strategy, inventory flow, wholesale and direct sales, fulfillment, and customer service excellence working with close family wineries to multi-brand global leaders. That 10,000 hours thing, yep, I have it covered.

 

​I look forward to exploring the exciting possibilities for your brand.