Terlato Wines Appoints New Chief Operating Officer

Terlato Wines International (TWI) President and CEO Bill Terlato announced that the family-owned company's Chief Marketing Officer David Lane has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer.

"David has made outstanding contributions to the company since he joined us in 2005," said Terlato. "He has led our marketing, communications and research teams, dramatically changing our activities in these areas and improving measurable results. We now have a better understanding of the luxury wine consumer's needs, which has translated into stronger advertising executions and partnerships, greatly enhanced brand awareness, along with stronger brand programming and excellent package development."

With 17 years experience in the premium wine industry, coupled with a keen understanding of the luxury wine market, Lane has driven strategies to maximize the strength of the Terlato portfolio, which come from the world's most renowned wine regions and producers.

Balancing the quality of the Terlato portfolio with breakthrough consumer outreach, Lane developed a firm understanding of who the luxury consumer is and has effectively created emotional connections with TWI brands and wineries. Since joining Terlato, Lane spearheaded several new brand launches and re-launches, while enabling top line revenue growth of more than $50 million.

"I am grateful for the Terlato family's faith in my ability to lead our company to even greater success," said Lane. "The family has a long-standing, deep-rooted passion for excellence in the luxury wine business and has continually shown its commitment to reinvest significant resources back into the organization. I'm excited and eager to take on this new challenge to drive up significant top line and bottom line growth."

Lane replaces Tom Steffanci, who has chosen to leave TWI to pursue a dream of creating his own wine brand in California.

"We are grateful for the expertise and leadership Tom Steffanci has brought to our company over the last three years and wish him the best as he pursues his passion of launching his own small brand," added Terlato. "Under Tom, we restructured the organization to create two Sales and Marketing Divisions, and improved our team training and processes which helped us to significantly grow our business."

Lane began his career in the wine industry in 1991, at E & J Gallo Winery where he served as Fine Wine Sales Manager, Southeast U.S. and On-Premise Division Manager for Florida. Lane shifted his focus to marketing in 1999 to hone his brand-building expertise in the premium wine category.

In addition to a Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, Lane holds a Master of Business Administration degree (marketing and international business) from Duke University.

"David is a role model for organizational teamwork and achievement across functions," said Terlato. "We look forward to working together and furthering our accomplishments under his leadership as Chief Operating Officer."

Terlato Wines International has a global portfolio of 50 brands from a host of world-class wine producers and presently markets more than one out of eight bottles of wine over $14 sold in America. Terlato, with more 90+ ratings than any wine company in the world, is the flagship company of the Terlato Wine Group, the parent company of several independent businesses specializing in the marketing and production of exceptional wines. Owned and operated by the Terlato family, the Group also includes the family's winery investments and partnerships in some of the world's most esteemed wine regions, including: Napa Valley; Sonoma County; Santa Barbara County; Victoria, Australia; the Rhone Valley in France; and Montalcino, Italy.

The Terlato Wines International portfolio of brands includes: Napa Valley: Brandlin, Chimney Rock, Cuvaison Estate Wines, Luke Donald Collection, Markham Vineyards, Rutherford Hill, Tangley Oaks, Terlato Family Vineyards and Two Hands -- Napa Valley; Sonoma County: Alderbrook, Hanna, Rochioli and Terlato Family Vineyards; Santa Barbara County: Sanford and Tangley Oaks; California Appellation: Glass Mountain and Seven Daughters; Oregon: Sokol Blosser; Italy: Baglio di Pianetto, Ca' del Bosco, Ca' Marcanda (Gaja Toscana), Florio Martinez Marsala, Gaja, Il Poggione, Kettmeir, Mazzoni (Toscana), Santa Margherita, Tiramisu, Torresella and Distillatori Nonino (Grappa); France: Champagne Bollinger, M. Chapoutier, Château des Laurets (Rothschild), Domaine Chanson, Josmeyer, Langlois-Chateau and Mischief and Mayhem; Australia: Domaine Terlato & Chapoutier, Domaine Tournon and Two Hands; Argentina: Tamari; Canada: Peller Estates Icewine; Greece: Boutari; New Zealand: Wairau River; South Africa: Cirrus, Guardian Peak, Engelbrecht-Els, Ernie Els Signature and Rust En Vrede; Spain: Olvena; Switzerland: Xellent Swiss Vodka.; Japan: Shimizu-No-Mai Sake.

SOURCE Terlato Wines International