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Global
Vineyard Importers was founded in the spring of 2001 by three
wine industry professionals. The company's mission was to create
a small, quality-oriented importer specializing in up-and-coming
varietals, principally from family-owned boutique wineries and
with a focus on the wineries of South America.
Larry
Challacombe
General Manager and Co-Founder
Larry
is knowledgeable about fine wines from all over the world and
is passionate about seeking out those wines that communicate
a sense of place. Having worked on the producer, supplier/importer
and retail ends of the wine business, Larry has a clear understanding
of the pressures that wholesalers, retailers and restaurateurs
face and the necessity of having not just top-quality wines
but effective marketing in a competitive wine market. From his first job out of graduate school as a Sales Representative for the
Gallo Wine Company, Larry has moved to positions of
increasing responsibility in the wine industry, including Vice President of Marketing for C. Mondavi & Sons (Charles
Krug & C.K. Mondavi wines), Executive Director of the Oregon
Wine Advisory Board, Director of Marketing for Beaulieu Vineyard,
and Director of Marketing for the Western Schieffelin &
Somerset organization. Prior
to founding Global Vineyard Importers, Larry was Vice President
of Sales & Marketing for A.G. Ferrari, an Italian wine and
food importer.
Email:
larry@globalvineyard.com
Ricardo Rivadeneira-Hurtado
Co-Founder
Ricardo lives in Santiago, Chile, and his family has owned vineyards
in the Colchagua Valley for several generations. Although Ricardo
was trained as a winemaker and viticulturist at Catholic University
in Santiago (Chile’s equivalent of U.C. Davis), he feels
it is also necessary to have finely-honed business skills to
successfully import wine. Ricardo and his extended family of
successful Chilean businesspeople opened their own winery, Los
Maquis, in 2004. Their first wine, Maquis Lien, is now in its
third vintage. The winery's second wine, Calcu--a "Super
Chilean" blend--was released in September 2006. Since forming
Global Vineyard Importers, Ricardo has been instrumental in
discovering several of the quality, family-owned South American
wines currently in Global's portfolio.
Doug Griswold
Regional Sales Manager
Doug brings extensive and varied sales experience to the Global
Vineyard team. Over the past decade, he has worked with small
and large wine importers alike, as well as at California's biggest
distributor. Most recently, Doug was a sales manager at Quintessential
Wines in Napa, where he oversaw a dramatic increase in sales
and was awarded "Salesman of the Year." Doug has a
particular affinity for the wines of South America.
Email: doug@globalvineyard.com
Lawrence Soble
Regional Sales Manager
Larry has an impressive background in wine sales, as well as
a passion for fine wine. He comes to Global Vineyard Importers
after stints as sales manager at Renwood Winery, Rosenblum Cellars
and Tuck Beckstoffer Wines. He also worked as a regional sales
manager at Majestic Fine Wines, where he managed a large international
wine portfolio of Jess Jackson wines. Larry is based in Atlanta,
Georgia, and he will manage most states in the southeast for
Global Vineyard.
Email: lsoble@globalvineyard.com
Cristina Silva
Office Manager
Cristina has been part of the Global Vineyard team since 2004.
She works closely with suppliers and distributors, manages the
office, tracks overseas shipments, and assists Global's sales
efforts. She has also coordinated three excellent, incentive-based
trips to Chile with Global distributors. Before joining Global,
Cristina was office manager at Poco a Poco Imports.
Email: cristina@globalvineyard.com
Rommel Batu
Office Assistant
Rommel processes orders, works with distributors, coordinates
wine shipments, and performs a range of administrative duties.
Before joining Global, he worked at Vinfolio and PremierCru
Wine Imports. Rommel is also pursuing a degree in Industrial
Design.
Email: rommel@globalvineyard.com
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