Specialty Wine Retailers Association
Appoint Tom Wark To Executive Director Post
- Growing Wine Retailer Group Fighting for a True National Wine Market-

Sacramento, Calif-The Specialty Wine Retailers Association announced today the appointment of Tom Wark as the association's new Executive Director. Wark will lead the association as it works to build a national marketplace for retailer-to-consumer sales in the face artificial and protectionist barriers to trade.

"Tom's long background in wine marketing and communications and his keen understanding of the issues that confront wine retailers and consumers put him at the top of the list to lead SWRA," commented Leslie Bergland, SWRA president. "We are excited because he brings an unquestionable commitment to creating open and fair trade for every sector of the wine industry from consumers and retailers to wholesalers and producers."

Wark entered the wine industry in 1990 working in public relations. In 1994 he established his own firm, Wark Communications, to provide communications services to wineries and wine-related companies. Wark has long been a vocal consumer and industry advocate for fair and legal direct shipping of wine. He has worked with the Coalition for Free Trade, Family Winemakers of California and Napa Valley Vintners.

"Thousands of wine brands from across the globe are available to consumers today, but without a level playing field for wine merchants it's unlikely that consumers will have access to most of these brands," notes Wark. "My goal at SWRA is to help create that playing field by building a coalition of progressive retailers who understand that without directly confronting the growing number of discriminatory laws and regulations across the country consumer access to fine wines will be severely diminished."

The Specialty Wine Retailers Association is a nationwide collection of wine merchants, auction houses, wine e-tailers, catalogers and wine clubs including 1-800-flowers.com (Ambrosiawine.com), Beverages & More, Bonhams & Butterfields, K & L Wine Merchants, My Wines Direct, Rare Wine Company, Signature Wines, Vinfolio, Winebid.com, and Wine Country Gift Baskets, Founded in 2005, SWRA's works in various legislative and regulatory arenas and by litigating to achieve its primary goal of replacing archaic and discriminatory laws that hurt consumers and retailers alike and to prevent new attempts by special interests to build more protectionist trade barriers.

Specialty Wine Retailers Association
Contact: Tom Wark
707-935-4424
twark@specialtywineretailers.org

Leslie Bergland
(707) 246-6827
lbergland@specialtywineretailers.org