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Napa Vintners Elect Pat Stotesbery President of Board of Directors
12/17/2007 - Napa Valley, CA – Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) announce that Pat Stotesbery, owner of Ladera Vineyards, has been elected president of the board of directors for the non-profit trade association of more than 300 member wineries from California’s premier winegrowing region. The gavel was passed, of this prestigious wine industry position, to Stotesbery from 2007 NVV Board President Peter McCrea, owner of Stony Hill Vineyard, who will continue as his predecessors have as board advisor.
Stotesbery and his wife Anne founded Ladera Vineyards on Howell Mountain in 1997. The couple met in California in the mid-1970s and lived in Minnesota and Montana before returning west to restore an historic 19th century stone winery, plant grapes and make wine. The Stotesberys developed their hands-on approach to agriculture on their Montana ranch. What started as a vacation hobby soon developed into a three ranch commercial cow/calf operation. Pat has since sold the ranch in Montana but says he doesn’t miss it, “This is still agriculture, and wine has replaced ranching for me.”
The board’s docket is going to be a busy one for Stotesbery’s team with the NVV leading the charge against industry-threatening rules being considered by the Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), as well as ongoing Napa name protection work underway across the U.S. and around the world. The association will launch its Napa Green Certified Winery program after a successful completion of the pilot program in 2007. In marketing the Appellation, the NVV will head to Florida, San Francisco Bay Area and Asia to meet consumers, trade and policy- and opinion-makers. Signature professional programs of the association include Premiere Napa Valley-the midwinter barrel tasting and auction; educational programs, including The Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, Napa Valley Wine Educators Academy, Master Napa Valley for advance-level credential candidates and Napa Valley Rocks, for on- and off-premise trade education.
Also serving on the NVV board of directors for 2008 are vice president, Stephen Corley, Monticello Vineyards; chief financial officer, Rick Jones, Jones Family Vineyards; secretary, Kathleen Heitz Myers, Heitz Wine Cellars; Karen Cakebread, Terrano Napa Valley; Cyril Chappellet, Chappellet Winery and Vineyard; Paula Kornell, Oakville Ranch Vineyards; Ed Matovcik, Beringer Vineyards; Alex Ryan, Duckhorn Wine Company, Tracey Skupny, Lang & Reed Wine Company; and Bob Torres, Trinchero Family Estates.
The NVV Board of Directors is joined by community board members David Freed of Silverado Partners and Dave Meyers of Dickinson, Peatman & Fogarty to lead Auction Napa Valley, the “must-attend” charity wine auction held each year in June. The NVV through Auction Napa Valley has given nearly $78 million to the Napa County community since its inception in 1981 and is the granddaddy and the backbone of all charity wine auctions in the U.S.
Now in our seventh decade, the NVV non-profit trade association is the sole organization responsible for promoting and protecting the Napa Valley Appellation as a winegrowing region second to none in the world. Respect for our history reinforces our commitment to the preservation and enhancement of the Valley’s land, wine, and community for future generations. We address the shared interests of our more than 300 member wineries and aspire to be the essential organization for all Napa Valley vintners.
Contact: Terry Hall, Communications Director 707-968-4217 thall@napavintners.com
