August Sebastiani Named President of The Other Guys; Richard Zeller Appointed Chief Operating Officer

August “Aug” Sebastiani, a fourth-generation member of one of California’s pioneer wine families, has been promoted to president of The Other Guys (TOG). Currently a division of Don Sebastiani & Sons, TOG will become a separate, independently operated wine company effective January 1, 2010, with Sebastiani at its helm. He will be joined by long-time family friend and business associate, Richard Zeller, who has been named Chief Operating Officer.

Sebastiani was born and raised in Sonoma and graduated from Justin Siena High School in Napa. He earned a bachelors degree in political science from Santa Clara University, where he also studied marketing. In 2002, he joined his father and older brother at Don Sebastiani & Sons as managing director of the then fledgling TOG division, where he oversaw the development and transition towards a direct-to-trade business model and worked in market and brand management, chain management and wholesale distribution. During his tenure as managing director, TOG grew from an annual case production of 5,000 to 140,000. In 2010, production is expected to almost double to 240,000 cases. Sebastiani and his wife, Allison, have two daughters and live in Sonoma, where Aug is a member of the Sonoma City Council, having been elected to a four-year term in 2006.

Zeller began his wine career with Southern Wine & Spirits in Los Angeles in 1985. In 1991, Sebastiani Vineyards hired him as a District Manager, eventually promoting him to On-Premise Manager, Southern California Manager and Area Manager. Zeller was one of the original four employees of Don & Sons when Don Sebastiani, Sr., founded the wine negociant firm in 2001. Over the last eight years, he’s been Western Region Vice President, Vice President of Exports and Vice President of Chain and Channel Management.

“Aug’s creativity and energy, coupled with Richard’s many years of experience, will give The Other Guys a unique advantage once the spin-off is complete,” said Don Sebastiani, Sr. “It will be exciting — and fun — to be a part of the evolution.”

TOG, which produces smaller lots of top-quality wines from premium vineyards in leading appellations, will concentrate on national distribution of its cutting-edge brands — including its flagship labels, Plungerhead and Hey Mambo — as part of its new focus. To accomplish this, the company also announced the hiring of three additional regional managers as part of its restructuring. They include John Sharp, who will handle the Rocky Mountain Region; Troy Johnson, in charge of the Southwest Region; and Gene Zimmerman, who will manage the Southeast Region. All have extensive wine industry experience.