Strong Sales Across Iconic Portfolio Drive Investment Within the PlumpJack Team
NAPA VALLEY, California (May 21, 2024) – John Conover, Managing Partner of the PlumpJack Collection of Wineries, is pleased to announce the key new appointments to the iconic portfolio’s growing sales team. The portfolio, which includes PlumpJack Estate, Cade Estate, Odette Estate, and Adaptation, has experienced strong annual sales since 2012 due to savvy sales and marketing strategies that have resonated with both consumers and trade alike.
Part of that strategy has involved an ever-higher level of service and attention to targeted and current customers. These new hires will help ensure the PlumpJack Collection (PJC) team continues its unique ability to connect with its distributors, customers, and consumers.
As the new Northeastern Regional Manager, Ben Sandstrom joins the PJC team with a wealth of knowledge having held sales positions of increasing responsibility for prestigious wineries in the Napa Valley and Spain. Sandstrom holds both the CSW and WSET III certifications. A native of Wisconsin, he now lives in Manhattan and will represent the PJC portfolio with 13 states in the northeast and Eastern Canada – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.
Karen Rosa will step into the role of Western Regional Sales Manager, with a proven track record for building relationships with key account buyers and luxury properties and an impressive resume that includes 15 years of experience with established names such as Merryvale Family of Wines, Cabernet Corp and Duckhorn Wine Company. Karen lives in Northen California and will work to deepen and expand PJC’s client relationships in the 12 states in the western United States – California, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming.
“We have recognized more than ever in recent years that the PlumpJack Collection of Wineries is a relationship business,” said Conover. “The ability to tell our own story about our world class estate vineyards and hand-crafted winemaking is the key to our longevity. Our distributors don’t always have the time to tell this story, and it is increasingly important to us to be able to support them in connecting with our extremely passionate trade and consumer base. We’re thrilled to invest in this model with both Ben Sandstrom and Karen Rosa – two extremely talented hires who are the perfect storytellers to represent our extraordinary portfolio.”
For more information on the PlumpJack Collection of Wineries, please visit plumpjackcollection.com
About PlumpJack Estate Winery
Owned by partners Gavin Newsom, Gordon Getty and John Conover, and operated by PlumpJack Management Group, PlumpJack Estate Winery is located in Napa Valley’s famed Oakville AVA. The winery made international headlines in 2000 when it became the first producer to release a luxury wine, its 1997 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, with a screw cap closure. Since joining PlumpJack Winery in 2012, Winemaker Aaron Miller has earned three 100-point Cabernet Sauvignon scores with two Syrahs in the Top 100 Wines of the World.
About Odette Estate Winery
Odette Estate Winery, nestled in the heart of the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, is dedicated to producing limited-production, terroir-driven. Named after three historical female figures, Odette captures the essence of Stags Leap District, symbolizing femininity, strength, and power. The winery’s commitment to responsible stewardship of the land has earned it widespread acclaim and recognition within the industry, from its surrounding 36-acre organically farmed CCOF certified Estate Vineyard to its 5,000-square-foot LEED Gold Certified winery. In 2021, the estate launched the Adaptation label, serving as an accessible entry point to the Odette portfolio and the broader PlumpJack Collection of Wineries. In May of 2022, The PlumpJack Collection announced the acquisition of Oso Vineyard, a sprawling, high elevation site in northeastern Napa Valley. Roughly a third of the 129-acre vineyard’s grapes have been featured in the Adaptation label in recent years, and the Oso acquisition furthers that label’s ability to grow. Andrew Haugen was appointed as Head Winemaker in 2023.
About CADE Estate Winery
Perched high upon Napa Valley’s Howell Mountain among a dramatic hillside of Manzanita trees, CADE Estate Winery is a unique, state-of-the-art facility producing exquisite Estate Cabernet and enticing Sauvignon Blanc, helmed by winemaker Danielle Cyrot since 2012. Having received its Gold LEED certification in 2009, CADE is considered the greenest winery estate of its size in California. In 2016, the PlumpJack Collection acquired what is now 13th Vineyard by CADE, restoring a historic property that dates to 1886 (and was the 13th bonded winery in the Napa Valley).
