Key Faces Around
the Winery:

» Derek Benham
Owns it!

» Dennis Carroll
Runs it!

» Ron Janowczyk
Sells it!

» Alex Cose
Makes it!

» Christian Tietje
Also Makes It!

PURPLE WINE COMPANY:

Purple Wine Company was founded in 2001 by Derek Benham and is based in Graton, California. Its mission is to create wines that offer outstanding value, are high quality and consistent in style from vintage to vintage. The wines produced via its sister production company, Sonoma Wine Company, are produced using water and energy conservation practices, while reducing Green House Gas emissions. Current brands include Mark West Pinot Noir, Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon, Bex Riesling, Rock Rabbit Sauvignon Blanc, and Four Vines Zinfandel.

DEREK BENHAM, FOUNDER:

Purple Wine was founded by Derek Benham, who with his brother Courtney Benham created Blackstone Merlot in 1991, making about 400 cases of it from cheaply purchased bulk wine and selling it all at Cost Plus World Market. Ten years later, the Benhams sold Blackstone to Constellation Brands for $144 million.

Derek Benham says on the day of the sale, a colleague asked him what he planned to do next. He answered by sketching out a business plan for Purple Wine Co. on a blackboard.

Ten years later that sketch has grown into a top-20 California winery on the verge of shattering the 1,000,000 case sales mark in 2011.

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DENNIS CARROLL, PRESIDENT:

Dennis Carroll is president and chief operating officer of custom vintner Sonoma Wine Co. and president of sister organization Purple Wine Co., which produces the brands Avalon, BEX, Blue Jean, Mark West and Rock Rabbit. Sonoma Wine has seven North Coast facilities. Cartlidge & Brown in American Canyon was acquired last year, adding a Napa Valley base for production.

Dennis’ history with the company dates back to the Associated Vintage Group, which brothers Derek and Courtney Benham purchased in 2000 as Codera Wine Co., the predecessor of Derek Benham’s ventures Sonoma Wine and Purple Wine companies.

Dennis started as a financial consultant and CPA for Deloitte & Touche and eventually became a top executive for Illuminations, the Good Guys and Beverages & More.

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RON JANOWCZYK, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT:

A graduate of Notre Dame, Ron joined Purple Wine Company in 2000 as the first full time employee. As Senior VicePresident of Sales, he is responsible for all aspects of distribution, sales, and sales management. Ron joined the purple team with an extensive background in the wine industry. He served as Central Regional Manager, National Programming and Pricing Manager, and President of Artisan & Estates forKendall Jackson from 1991-2000. Previous to that, he was Central Region Manager at Louis M. Martini winery and Manager of Recruiting and Training with powerhouse E&J Gallo.

Ron is the proud father of three children. He's a hunting and Harley enthusiast, and college football fan. Ron is also an active member of the Williams Syndrome Association.

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ALEX COSE, WINEMAKER:

Alex Cose studied finance at Cal State Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) and worked as a banker at Wells Fargo for six years during the early boom years of the Internet. A change of heart landed him an unpaid cellar rat job at Monticello Cellars in Napa and enrolled at Cal State Fresno to study winemaking. By 27, he was cellar master at Peter Michael.

Now he applies that passion to blending wines purchased cheaply from all over California to make surprisingly delicious end products with the glee of a 12-year-old in love with his first chemistry set.

“Peter Michael was about knowing one piece of land extremely well,” Alex says. “Now I get to work with fruit from everywhere. I want 100 spices in the spice rack, not two. The beauty of how we operate is that each year tends to lend itself to something new and fun.”

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CHRISTIAN TIETJE, ASSOCIATE WINEMAKER:

Christian Tietje couldn’t wait to start ripping the wine world a new one, so along with business partner Susan Mahler he founded Four Vines in his garage-cum-surf shack with not much more than determination, a love of Zinfandel and a kick-ass idea:  he wanted to make four “killer zins” from the four top appellations for old vine Zinfandel grapes:  Napa, Sonoma, Amador and Paso Robles. 

Four Vines exploded onto the scene with “Maverick,” “Sophisticate” and “Biker.”  Each wine reflects the unique flavors, structure and character imparted by terroir, a reflection of the soil, air, water and surroundings in which the grapes were grown, while also showing the bold, fruit-forward, food-friendly style that would become Christian’s trademark.

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