New Position to Steer Growth, Performance and Opportunity at Leading Paso Robles Winery
Paso Robles, CA: Hope Family Wines today named Matt Dusi as Vice President of Business Operations, a new position responsible for overseeing and optimizing the daily operations, administrative functions and new opportunities of this leading Paso Robles winery.
With a family viticultural heritage that spans four generations in the Paso Robles AVA, Dusi is a longtime local executive with deep experience in both the wine and financial industries. As VP of Business Operations, he will partner with ownership, executive leadership, winemaking, vineyard management, finance and direct-to-consumer teams to ensure operational excellence while driving continued growth at Hope Family Wines.
“Matt is the perfect person at the perfect time to help Hope Family Wines move into this next stage of growth and opportunity,” said Owner-Winemaker Austin Hope. “Not only does he have the experience and skill set to help with our multifaceted business operations, but he is also a wine industry veteran who, like me, grew up in Paso Robles and maintains a deep love for the region.”
Dusi’s great-grandparents Sylvester and Caterina Dusi, both immigrants from Northern Italy, settled in Paso Robles and planted Zinfandel vines starting in 1925, making their mark as notable pioneers of the local wine industry. The Dusi family has been active in Paso Robles winegrowing and winemaking ever since.
Dusi comes to Hope Family Wines from Bank of the Sierra, where he served as Head of Commercial Banking and managed a team of 40 lenders and support personnel overseeing a lending portfolio of $2 billion. His career in banking, finance, and family wine and farming operations spans 25 years on the Central Coast.
“Hope Family Wines and Austin Hope are synonymous with Paso Robles, with decades of experience producing some of the region’s finest wines,” Dusi said. “After more than 30 years of knowing and working with so many people at Hope Family Wines, coming here feels less like starting a new job and more like joining a family ”
Investing in Paso Robles
Dusi’s appointment reinforces Hope Family Wines’ continued market momentum heading into the latter half of 2026. The winery spans six brands that exemplify the world-class quality and diversity of Paso Robles: Austin Hope, Treana, Quest, AUSTIN, Liberty School and Troublemaker. Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon is America’s fastest-growing luxury Cabernet Sauvignon with distribution in 62 countries, spanning North America, South America, Europe and Asia. In fewer than 10 years, Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon has grown to become the nation’s #2 bestselling luxury Cabernet Sauvignon. The winery operates two tasting locations in Paso Robles.
Last year, Hope Family Wines unveiled its new state-of-the-art warehouse and bottling line, positioning the winery for continued growth while advancing Paso Robles’ standing as an expanding force in California wine. Among the first of its kind in the Paso Robles region, the 140,000-square-foot warehouse now serves as the lead pickup point for Hope Family Wines’ global distribution network.
Also last year, Hope Family Wines introduced Tufera Farms, a new 250-acre estate vineyard acquisition in the Creston District AVA of Paso Robles. In addition to providing fruit for Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon and other wines, the property now serves as a source for organic truffles grown on specially cultivated Holly Oak trees and packaged by Hope Provisions, the culinary arm of Hope Family Wines.
Earlier this year, Hope Family Wines announced the launch of a new 40,000-square-foot rooftop solar array that offsets 60 percent of the energy needed to power the winery’s entire wine production facility, administration offices and warehousing operation in Paso Robles.
“We believe that Paso Robles is, in many ways, just getting started,” Hope said. “We will continue to invest in sustainability, enterprise and family winemaking as we continue to champion this amazing place.”
About Hope Family Wines
Hope Family Wines is one of the pioneering heritage wineries that helped spark the modern winemaking era in Paso Robles. Owner & Winemaker Austin Hope grew up in Paso Robles as the son of winegrowers Chuck and Marlyn Hope, from whom he inherited his love and respect for the region. Hope Family Wines today spans six brands that exemplify the world-class quality and diversity of Paso Robles: Austin Hope, Treana, Quest, Austin, Liberty School and Troublemaker. In the fall of 2022, Hope Family Wines was named “American Winery of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast’s annual Wine Star Awards, and the winery’s flagship Austin Hope Cabernet Sauvignon has twice been named a “Top 10 Wine of the Year” by Wine Enthusiast. Most important, Hope Family Wines works with 50 partner growers and a dedicated family of employees who make it all possible. More at HopeFamilyWines.com.
