Clients

Avanti Fine Wine Selections
(www.avantiwines.com)
Avanti Fine Wine Selections is a portfolio of hand-selected premium wines with competitive price points from around the world. The company is the joint venture of two former Robert Mondavi sales executives (Mitch Clark and Jim Buckley) who wanted to combine their expertise and passion to create a quality wine company. Mitch and Jim personally select every wine and are committed to growing a sales force and distributor network of like-minded individuals. I spent 20 years at Mondavi myself, and knowing Mitch and Jim's track record and style, was immediately interested in working with them. Avanti is focused on quality wineries with great pedigree, good packaging and consumer-friendly pricing.

Wineries in the portfolio include:

Meyer Family Cellars, Yorkville, CA
(www.meyerfamilycellars.com)
Meyer Family Cellars is the creation of the late Justin Meyer (of Silver Oak fame), his widow Bonny and son Matt.

Having created one of Napa Valley's most sought after "cult" wines, Justin and Bonny decided to sell their half of Silver Oak Cellars to their partner in the year 2000 to devote themselves to their dream of creating a small winery that would involve the Meyer family. They found a small winemaking facility just south of Boonville, California near the Anderson Valley that needed some tender loving care and began its restoration. The first bottling of Meyer Family port at the new winery took place in the spring of 2002. Two vintages of Syrah are currently aging in barrel for future release.

Following in his father's footsteps, Matt has taken over the winemaking responsibilities and the management of the family winery. With the untimely passing of patriarch Justin Meyer in the summer of 2002, the family has rededicated itself to the winery project and the quality wines that will be its hallmark.

Meyer Family Cellars produces a Syrah and a vintage old-vine Zinfandel "solera" port.

Vin du Lac, Lake Chelan, Washington
(www.vindulac.com)
The Vin du Lac winery sits on a hilltop rising 200 feet above Lake Chelan in eastern Washington, with superb views of the lake, Chelan Butte, and the town of Chelan. The grounds have been orchard land since the 1920's, and one half of the property remains working orchard. Seven acres of vineyard were planted in the spring of 2002.

Owner/winemaker Larry Lehmbecker is a believer in the art of blending. All of the lots of wine made are very small, reflecting a careful, demanding selection process used to select vineyard plots and grapes for Vin du Lac. Typically the winery vinifies nearly forty different batches of wine from up to eight different vineyards in a given vintage. The wines are all hand-harvested, small-production lot bottlings from premium Washington vineyard sites. While Vin du Lac sources fruit from across Washington state, a central part of the winery's mission is to explore the unique wine stylings that the cooler, northerly location of the Lake Chelan Valley offers.

Hyatt Vineyards, Zillah, Washington
(www.hyattvineyards.com/)
One of the hidden treasures in Washington's Yakima Valley, Leland and Linda Hyatt established Hyatt Vineyards in 1985 and released their first wines in 1987. The Hyatt family are experienced agriculturalists in the northern Yakima valley. Nationally known for superb Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines, Hyatt Vineyards Winery features high quality, single-vineyard Chardonnay, Late Harvest Riesling and Ice Wines as well.

The winery and 180 acres of vineyards are located along the Rattlesnake Hills Wine Trail on a knoll of about 1100 feet in elevation with breathtaking views of Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adam, the Yakima Valley and the Cascades.

Andy Gamache, formerly of Hogue Cellars and Apex, is the winemaker. In addition to the Hyatt label wines, the winery produces reserve wines from the estate vineyards under the Roza Ridge Vineyards label.