Audelssa Inks Marketing Partnership with Foley for National Sales

Former Chateau Montelena Managing Director Greg Ralston On-Board in Advisory Role

Audelssa Estate Winery has announced a strategic partnership with Foley Family Wines. Foley Family Wines will be the exclusive worldwide distributor of Audelssa wines beginning October 1, 2009. The partnership immediately opens up dozens of new markets for Audelssa in the United States and several potential international markets. Audelssa has also brought in Greg Ralston, former Managing Director of Chateau Montelena Winery, as an advisor to help with the transition.

Foley Family Wines was established by in 1996 and has grown to be among the Top 30 U.S. Wineries.  In addition to the new partnership with Audelssa, Foley Family Wines represents Firestone Vineyard, Sebastiani Vineyard and Winery, Merus, Kuleto Estate, Foley Estate and several other premium wineries. The deal with Audelssa is not a sale, but is a national distribution deal which opens up new markets for critically acclaimed Audelssa.

“This is a significant announcement for Foley Family Wines,” president Tim Matz said in a statement.  “Our Mission Statement declares that we are committed to growing, producing and selling the finest quality brands of the highest possible value; it also says that our long-term goal is to become one of the most respected premium wine companies in the world.  I believe we are laying the perfect foundation to achieve these objectives.”

In explaining their motivation for entering into this arrangement, Audelssa’s three managing partners; Winemaker Erich Bradley, Founder Dan Schaefer Jr. and CFO Mark Brewer point to their rapid production growth. Audelssa released 3,300 cases in 2008. In 2009 the winery released 6,000 cases and plans call for 8,000 cases in 2010. “Three tier channel sales are a key part of our strategy,” Mark Brewer observed, “and the breadth and depth of Foley’s distribution system, plus the vigor of their growth in this area promise to introduce Audelssa all across the country and beyond.”

Dan Schaefer Jr. will focus his attention on working with Foley Family Wines to maximize the distribution potential. Schaefer also sees working with Foley Family Wines as a strategic partnership that increases Audelssa’s presence dramatically in the American market. “It seems like a perfect fit,” said Schaefer. “They’re impressed with what we’ve done so far with the vineyards and the wines and we are looking to expand our distribution on a national level. I can’t imagine working with a better organized or more successful sales team than Foley Family Wines.”

“The challenge of developing and optimizing the Audelssa organization to realize its potential allows me to work with people I like and respect and a winery business that I believe is on the cusp of great success,” Ralston said.

Dan Schaefer Sr. and his wife Jeanne planted vines on the site in 1999. Now known as the “Home of Extreme Viticulture,” Audelssa Estate Winery has a distinctive vineyard site. Its Mountain Terraces Vineyard cascades some 1,200 vertical feet down the Sonoma slope of the Mayacamas Mountains.

Audelssa’s wines were initially produced by Richard Arrowood in nearby Arrowood Vineyards and Winery. Winemaker Erich Bradley, then an Arrowood assistant, thought that the wines would benefit from a more artisanal approach, one that followed a more Burgundian tradition. “It was an unorthodox concept,” said Bradley, “making Bordeaux and Rhone varieties in that style, but I felt it would create the most graceful and seductive expressions of this very special place.” In 2002, Gloria and Dan Jr. hired Bradley to be their winemaker and he was able to realize his vision.