Kendall-Jackson Names First-Ever South American Sales Chief; World-Wide Wine Vet Targets Brazil, Other Major Latin Markets.

Business Editors

SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 10, 2002

Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates hired its first-ever sales manager for South America, ensuring a stronger effort on that continent for its international range of brands.

Jaime Lamoliatte now manages sales of Kendall-Jackson's full range of wines from around the world, including Kendall-Jackson, Camelot, Yangarra Park and two South American brands, Calina from Chile and Tapiz from Argentina. He reports to Bill Blais, Regional Sales Director for the Americas, and Michael Haarstad, Executive Vice President, International Trading and Direct Sales.

"With Jaime, there's no mistaking our commitment to South America," Haarstad said. "Our investment there is vigorous and on-going -- we intend to make a difference."

Lamoliatte, 31, comes well qualified. A bi-national Chilean-Frenchman, he has lived extended periods in Argentina, England, France and Brazil, resulting in fluency in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. He last served as sales and marketing director of Anakena Winery in Santiago, Chile. Earlier he was export manager for Santa Monica Winery in Chile.

During 1996, he was assistant wine bar manager at Davys of London. He served his winery internship at Chateau Pavie, St. Emilion, France. His credentials include a diploma in enology and wine tasting from Bordeaux University, France, and a degree in agricultural management from the National Institute of Management in Santiago.

Kendall-Jackson hired Lamoliatte as part of its strategy to expand overseas sales. He is optimistic about South America's potential. Low tariff barriers among South American nations hold particular promise for South American brands Calina and Tapiz, he said.

"Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates is still small in South America, but we can improve sales in Chile and Argentina," he said. "Then you have potential new markets like Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Colombia."

Carl Krawitt, international brand manager for Calina and Tapiz, said the time is ripe for expansion on the continent.

"Especially in Brazil, there is a growing demand for wines from California, Chile and Argentina," Krawitt said. "This will strengthen our position as a quality wine producer in the region."

Kendall-Jackson produces a quality-focused portfolio of premium wines crafted from hillside and coastal growing regions in California, Italy, Chile, Argentina and Australia.

Along with Kendall-Jackson, which features Collage(R), Vintner's Reserve(R), Grand Reserve, Great Estates(TM) and Stature(TM) wines, KJWE offers Camelot and Pepi brands with California appellations, Sonoma County's La Crema Winery, Edmeades from Mendocino's Anderson Valley, Villa Arceno from Tuscany, Italy, Yangarra Park from Australia, and South American wineries Calina from Chile and Tapiz from Argentina.

Visit Kendall-Jackson on the Web at kj.com.

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