Michael Jellison Named President and COO
of Swanson Vineyards
December
13, 2006, Rutherford, California----W.
Clarke Swanson Jr., CEO of Swanson Vineyards,
announces the appointment of Michael Jellison
as President and COO of Swanson Vineyards.
"Michael brings a skill set which
will assist the development of the company,"
explained Swanson. "We expect he
will make a great contribution to the
company over the coming years," he
added. Jellison commenced his duties on
December 11 and is based at the winery's
office in Oakville.
Jellison has extensive experience in the
wine industry. Most recently he was the
Vice President for Sales & Logistics
at Icon Estates; he has also served as
President and CEO of Allied Domecq Wines
USA; Senior Vice President & Finance
Director of Allied Domecq North America;
President & CEO of Canton Wood Products;
as a founding partner of the consultancy
Wine Colleagues; and as Vice President
& Director of Financial Services for
Kahlua Group-Maidstone Wine & Spirits.
He graduated from Loyola Marymount University
with an undergraduate degree in accounting;
he is also a CPA. Jellison lives with
his family in Santa Rosa.
Swanson Vineyards, founded in 1985 by
Clarke Swanson, is one of the largest
producers of estate-grown Merlot in the
Napa Valley. Swanson Vineyards owns 140
acres in Oakville and has, for its core
wines, an annual production of 30,000
cases. The winery's current core releases
are: 2003 Estate Merlot; 2003 Alexis,
an estate bottled, proprietary Cabernet
Sauvignon-based blend; and 2005 Pinot
Grigio. Winemaker Chris Phelps also makes
several wines available only at the winery's
tasting Salon---2005 Salon Chardonnay,
2005 Salon Rosato, 2003 Salon Sangiovese
and 2003 Salon Petite Sirah.
The winery staged seminars on Merlot in
2006 in nine cities across the U.S. A
website, www.MerlotFightsBack.com,
was established to support this effort
and provides seminar details.
With
an eye on quality, relevance and irreverence,
Swanson Vineyards opened its private tasting
Wine Salon in 2000. As one of the first
luxury wine tasting facilities in the
United States, the Swanson Salon offers
three seatings per day, designed to provide
the visitor with a unique wine tasting
experience. The Salon is open by appointment
Wednesday through Sunday and is located
at 1271 Manley Lane in Rutherford (telephone
707/967-3500). For the 2006 holiday season,
the winery established www.shopswansonsalon.com
to facilitate ordering Swanson wines,
Alexis Chocolate Bonbons and Swanson Caviar.
Contacts:
Julie Ann Kodmur
707/963-9632
corking@julieannkodmur.com
www.merlotfightsback.com
www.shopswansonsalon.com
