Eugene, OR- King Estate Winery announces Rick Durette, VP of National Sales, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Global Sales. In addition to Durette’s advancement, King Estate welcomes two new members to the sales force, Central Region Manager, Kevin Graham and Northeast Region Manager, Jeff Brooks.
Rick Durette has been with King Estate since January 1st, 2013. Based in Oceanside, CA, his original role was to oversee all domestic sales working through our national distributor partnerships. Over the last 9 months, Steve Thomson has been working with Rick to introduce him to the export side of the business; King Estate currently exports wine to over 40 countries, with plans to increase that amount of international partners in the near future. Rick will report directly to Ed King, III. Rick Durette’s experience prior to his arrival at King Estate includes 28 years of industry experience at Jess Jackson’s Artisans & Estates, Wilson Daniels, Boisset Family Estates, along with time in Southern California wine distribution.
King Estate welcomed Kevin Graham as Central Region Manager in June. With more than 18 years’ experience in the wine and spirits industry, Kevin has a wide range of experience in managing multiple wine and spirits brands. Kevin started his career in Nashville, TN in retail before moving over to the distributor and supplier side of the business. Kevin spent 11 years with Treasury Wine Estates (formerly Southcorp/ Foster’s Wine Estates) where he held numerous sales and management positions and was recognized as Southeast Salesperson of the Year for his outstanding achievements in 2007. Kevin has worked for Tennessee distributors Athens Distributing, Lipman Brothers, and B&T Distributing. Kevin was most recently at The Sazerac Company where he managed sales for the state of South Carolina. Originally from Nashville, Kevin is now be based in Chicago, IL.
Jeff Brooks joins the King Estate sales team as Northeast Region Manager. Brooks has had an extensive career in the wine and spirits industry in key account sales, market and distributor management, national accounts, international sales, and executive management. Jeff began his career in Washington, D.C. as a distributor wine consultant before joining Schieffelin & Co. in the Mid-Atlantic States. Additional sales positions in Metro New York and National Accounts followed. Brooks joined Kobrand Corporation in New England and was promoted to several management positions and became a member of the Executive Team in 2007. Most recently he served as Vice President, Northeast/Canada Group Manager for Kobrand. Jeff and his family reside in Sturbridge, MA.
About King Estate: King Estate, celebrating 23 years of Oregon winemaking in 2014, is located southwest of Eugene, Oregon, at the southern tip of the Willamette Valley. Founded in 1991 by the King family, King Estate is committed to producing wines of exceptional quality using organic & sustainable farming methods, meticulous fruit selection, and impeccable winemaking practices. King Estate focuses on producing world-class Pinot Gris and Pinot Noirs. To this day, King Estate is owned and operated by the King Family.
