NAPA VALLEY, LOS CARNEROS, Calif. – October 28, 2020 – Napa Valley’s Cuvaison Estate Wines, which includes the iconic Cuvaison winery in Los Carneros, and acclaimed Mount Veeder winery Brandlin, is excited to announce that it has appointed industry veteran Brendan Finley to the role of estate director. Finley will oversee the company’s front-of-the-house team and will manage all aspects of the luxury winery experience for both Cuvaison and Brandlin, including the Cuvaison Tasting Room, wine clubs for both wineries, and consumer and club events. Finley will also be working alongside the Cuvaison Estate Wines executive team to oversee several new projects, including an expanded tasting room and enhanced guest experiences, which will be unveiled in the summer of 2021.
Before joining Cuvaison Estate Wines, Finley spent nine years as the EVP of hospitality operations and DTC at Wente Family Estates, where he oversaw all guest experiences, including three retail tasting rooms, a restaurant, golf course and direct-to-consumer sales. In addition to managing all hospitality operations, Finley also helped to spearhead several infrastructure expansions during his time at Wente. Prior to joining the wine industry, Finley earned a reputation for excellence in the hotel and resort industry, working for such acclaimed companies as Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Bacara Resort and Spa, and at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort, where he played a key role in redeveloping the property back into a Four-Star resort.
“At Cuvaison Estate Wines, we pride ourselves on providing a world-class hospitality experience that creates deeper, more meaningful relationships with our club members and other customers,” says Cuvaison Estate Wines President and CEO Dan Zepponi. “As with our wines, we are constantly striving to get even better. Brendan’s experience working in some of America’s most respected hotels and resorts, combined with his time managing hospitality operations in the wine industry, make him the ideal person to take our hospitality experience to the next level.”
“I am deeply excited to be joining the Cuvaison Estate Wines team, and to help guide the future of these two storied wineries,” says Finley. “From Cuvaison’s rich, 50+ year history pioneering cool-climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Los Carneros to Brandlin’s commitment to making some of California’s finest mountain-grown wines on Mt. Veeder, these are wineries that helped to shape the modern era of Napa Valley winemaking. I am honored to contribute to the next chapter in the story of these two renowned wine estates.”
ABOUT CUVAISON ESTATE WINES
Cuvaison Estate Wines is an independent, family-owned Napa Valley wine company. Established in 1969, with the founding of Cuvaison winery in Napa Valley, today Cuvaison Estate Wines also includes Brandlin on Mount Veeder. With an estate program that includes Cuvaison’s historic Los Carneros vineyard, which features over 200 planted acres largely devoted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the 48-acre Brandlin Vineyard on Mount Veeder, which is primarily planted to Cabernet Sauvignon and other red Bordeaux varieties, Cuvaison Estate Wines focuses on ultra-premium, estate-grown wines. For more information, visit cuvaison.com and brandlinvineyard.com
