Cooper brings top level luxury sales and marketing strategy to the brands
(St. Helena, Napa Valley, California, Tuesday, May 25th, 2021) – Merryvale Family of Wines, parent company of Merryvale Vineyards and Starmont Wines, is proud to welcome Steele Cooper as Director of Sales for the central and eastern regions of the U.S.
Based in Dallas, TX, Cooper will oversee sales and brand engagement for Merryvale, Profile Collection, Starmont and Forward Kidd, working in conjunction with the Pacific Highway Wines team.
Cooper joins the Merryvale family from Rémy Cointreau where his focus was LOUIS XIII. As LOUIS XIII Vice President, Sales, at Rémy Cointreau since 2017, Cooper oversaw the brand’s performance across all U.S. and Caribbean markets with a heavy focus on channel optimization, luxury On-Premise segments, education, PR initiatives and private client development. He developed and managed the team of LOUIS XIII Ambassadors in the major markets as well as all programming for the Rémy Cointreau field sales organization and distributor network across the U.S.
Steele Cooper previously worked for RNDC TX as Director of Supplier Business Development, was a TX Region Manager for The Plumpjack Group, and got his first start in the wine and spirits business as Senior Market Manager for TX On-Premise with Rémy Cointreau. Cooper graduated from Washington & Lee University in Virginia and holds certifications in Financial Management from Cornell University and Digital Marketing Strategy from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management.
“Steele is a talented addition to our team,” remarks René Schlatter, President & CEO of Merryvale Family of Wines. “His impressive skillset in the U.S. wine and spirits business, specifically with the luxury on-premise segment of the market, will be an excellent addition to our efforts, particularly with the Profile Wine Collection and Merryvale Wines.”
This news comes at the same time as Pacific Highway Wines announces healthy company growth over the past year, and specific growth for the leading skus in the Merryvale Family of Wines collection. Merryvale Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon up 55% revenue 52 weeks 3.27.21 and the popular Starmont Carneros Chardonnay has been repositioned for ongoing premium growth across the U.S.
Schlatter continued, “We have an excellent extended team. Between the successes of Pacific Highway Wines and the engagement of our Merryvale sales team, Karen Rosa for the West and now Steele Cooper for Central and Eastern regions, I’m feeling very positive for the future of our business.”
About Merryvale Family of Wines
Established in 1983, Merryvale Family of Wines is dedicated to making high quality wines from the Napa Valley. Helmed by the Schlatter family for over 25 years, Merryvale Family of Wines has established deep roots with ownership of two sustainably farmed estate vineyards: the Profile Estate, a 25-acre hillside vineyard overlooking St. Helena, and the 38-acre historic Stanly Ranch Estate vineyard in Carneros. Merryvale Vineyards became the flagship of the portfolio when the Schlatter Family became the sole owners of this historic property in 1996. A family owned and operated company, Merryvale Family of Wines is comprised of the Merryvale, Profile Collection, Starmont and Forward Kidd brands
