White Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Awards 2022
October 20, 2022– Pacific Highway Wines is happy to reveal that it has actually won the Wine Lover White Wine Star Award for ‘Red wine Importer of the Year’. The annual Wine Star Awards recognizes the individuals and business that make exceptional contributions to the white wine and alcohol drink industry. Pacific Highway Wines will receive the honor at Wine Enthusiast’s 23rdannual Red wine Star Awards gala in San Francisco this coming January 2023.
Pacific Highway Red Wines President, Mark Giordano commented, “We are incredibly honored to be acknowledged by Wine Lover Magazine. This award is a shared acknowledgment of the hard work of every member of our sales, operations, finance and marketing groups. It likewise would not be possible without the exceptional wines and active go-to-market approach of our domestic and worldwide winery partners.”
Established as Robert Oatley Imports in 2008, the business expanded its import portfolio and renamed to Pacific Highway Red Wines & & Spirits in 2013. The Giesen household joined the Oatley household as 50-50 partners in 2016, allowing the company to fast track its growth. The business tripled the size of its wine portfolio over the past five years through both organic sales and the addition of new wineries to the portfolio.
Today, headquartered in Greensboro, NC, the business is led by President, Mark Giordano and reported top quality case sales up 20% by volume for FY22, with bullish projections in location for FY23. Having actually grown past its 2021 company goal of 500,000 cases, Pacific Highway Wines is on a trajectory to double the business and reach the 1 million case turning point within the next 5 years. Granted a ‘Fast 50 Company’ in both 2021 and once again in 2022 by the Triad Organization Journal of NC, Pacific Highway Red wines continues to broaden its portfolio and team.
The Portfolio
The Pacific Highway portfolio showcases family-owned and independent brands from coveted wine regions across the globe, with offerings from premium brand names covering Argentina, Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Oregon, Spain and Uruguay. The portfolio uses classification management in ingenious Non-Alcohol white wine offerings, Alternative Formats, and Certified Organic and Sustainable offerings.
Giesen leads the portfolio with its estate white wines from Marlborough and its introduction in 2020 of a premium non-alcohol range, Giesen 0%. The import brand names collection includes both multi-generational family wineries, Bodega Faustino, Luigi Bosca and Santa Ema, along with first-generation offering from Uruguay’s high-end Bodega Garzon, Bodega Argento Organic and Minimalista from Argentina, Le Grand Courtage champagnes from France and the Chateau Suau organic offering from Cotes de Bordeaux. California brand names include Napa Valley’s historical Merryvale Winery and the Profile Collection, Starmont, Garbage, ’75 Wine Co, and Gaslighter White Wines by Gundlach Bundschu Winery and The Chicks. Dobbes Household Estate and Red wine by Joe display the very best of Oregon and Willamette Valley.
Giordano added, “At the beginning of our , we gathered our Executive Group and reworded the business plan for the next 5 to ten years. ‘Level Up!’ is our business motto for this development and preparing all aspects of our organization for scalability. The Wine Star Award for White Wine Importer of the Year is a significant recognition of where we are today and an event of our exciting journey ahead.”