November 27, 2018, Oakville, Napa Valley, Calif.—Yountville native Kenneth Uhl will put away his suitcase as he announces his retirement from Groth Vineyards & Winery. Founder Dennis Groth hired Uhl in 1993 as the winery’s first director of sales and marketing. For twenty-five years, Ken represented the winery with distributors, restaurants, and retailers selling the Groth family’s wines domestically and internationally.
When Ken started with Groth Vineyards & Winery, he was the single member of the sales and marketing team. Today, the sales team includes four regional sales managers: Mike Lester, Marc Nelson, Scott Pyles, John Reilly, and Marketing Assistant Sue Bennett.
“The day I hired him Ken said, ‘Mr. Groth, I’m going to give you 100 percent. No wait, make that 110 percent every day.’ And he has for 25 years,” says Dennis Groth.
Prior to Groth, Ken was in sales at Chalone Wine Group and worked in the cellar at the former Carmenet Winery. Uhl looks forward to “staying off airplanes” and enjoying retirement with his wife Elizabeth at their home in Lake Shasta.
Dennis and Judy Groth founded Groth Vineyards & Winery in 1981 in the Oakville appellation of Napa Valley. Groth Vineyards & Winery remains family-owned and -operated by second-generation President Suzanne Groth. The winery produces distinctive Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay from their 165 acres of sustainably-farmed vineyards in Oakville and the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley. The distinctive California Mission-style winery, located at 750 Oakville Cross Road in Oakville, is open Monday thru Saturday for tours and tastings by appointment. Learn more at www.grothwines.com.
