Clayton Payne joins company as National Account Manager-Retail and The Mark Wine Group partners with DeLille to bolster the winery’s on-premise foothold
Woodinville, Wash.–Jan. 8, 2024—Since its redevelopment of the former Redhook brewery in Woodinville and construction of its 80,000-square-foot winery, tasting room, offices, and restaurant, DeLille Cellars has been busy establishing its national sales presence, with sales in 42 states. The winery has also more than tripled its wine production in the last five years. Supporting that momentum, DeLille Cellars’ VP of Sales Janna Rinker announced the recent appointment of Clayton Payne to National Account Manager-Retail and a new on-premise-focused partnership with The Mark Wine Group.
Mr. Payne most recently served nearly nine years on the supply side with Calif.-based Hahn Family Wines, where he began as a Texas Account Specialist and progressively ascended to the role of Vice President – National Strategic Retail. Prior to Hahn, Payne spent four years with Glazer’s Distributing as its District Sales Manager.
“I am excited to join the talented team at DeLille Cellars and look forward to helping DeLille find its home in off-premise national accounts across the U.S.,” Payne said.
While Payne is driving off-premise national account business, DeLille also recently forged a sales partnership with the on-premise-focused agency, The Mark Wine Group.
“DeLille Cellars has an extremely strong legacy in the Washington wine industry, with an unrivaled portfolio of world class wines,” said The Mark Wine Group President and Founder Mark Gmur. “We are deeply honored to have been appointed to represent such a prestigious partner, and we look forward to working closely alongside the DeLille Cellars national sales team.”
With its legacy, following, strong direct-to-consumer business, and impressive accolades, DeLille has been focused on increasing its national distribution to bring greater awareness to the remarkable wine quality of Washington State, starting with the 2020 hire of Vice President of Sales Janna Rinker. The winery realigned and expanded distribution into 42 states with such partners as Breakthru Beverage,
DeLille Cellars ~ 14300 NE 145th St., Suite 101, Woodinville, WA 98072 ~ www.delillecellars.com
SGWS, Maverick and independents including Fedway, Handcrafted, Vintus New York and Boston Wine Company.
DeLille’s in-house sales team also branched out across the country. In 2022, DeLille hired its first regional sales manager, Houston-based Britania Perez, followed by Brian Maxwell, a regional manager based in New Jersey. DeLille Cellars also self-distributes to more than 300 independent restaurants and retail accounts in the Seattle area, managed by Veronica Gorski from the company’s Woodinville headquarters.
“Janna and her team have done a remarkable job expanding our distribution and bringing DeLille to more wine consumers outside Washington State,” said CEO Tom Dugan. “I’m thrilled to bolster our national accounts efforts with the addition of Clayton and a partnership with Mark Wine Group; Washington wine is underrepresented in the premium and luxury categories, and we’re committed to showcasing the world class wine quality of the state and the exceptional talent of our winemaking team.”
While DeLille is still largely a direct-to-consumer and hospitality-driven company (including its flagship based The Restaurant at DeLille Cellars), efforts have paid off in its national distribution relationships and through the 2022 introduction of its new, more accessible, affordable three-SKU Métier tier. Five years ago, the winery marked a 20,000-case production; today, with Métier, it is now producing 85,000 cases annually.
“Moving forward, national sales are much more likely to represent a larger percentage of our business,” Rinker said. “It’s a symbiotic relationship though; we know expanding awareness of Washington wine and DeLille in general will only help our hospitality businesses and vice versa.”
Through the winery’s growth, DeLille’s ownership remains unchanged. It includes founders Jay Soloff, Chris Upchurch, Greg Lill and Pat Jorgensen, with private equity backing from Bacchus Capital Management, led by longtime industry veteran Sam Bronfman.
About DeLille Cellars
Bordeaux Inspired – Distinctly Washington – Uniquely DeLille
DeLille Cellars, founded in 1992, is the oldest operating winery in Woodinville, WA, with winemaking and hospitality operations at the Old Redhook Brewery in the Hollywood District of Woodinville Wine Country. Known for pioneering Bordeaux-style blends from Washington State, the winery has maintained a tradition of quality and excellence with over 800 individual 90+ ratings from leading publications. The winery is recognized by notable wine critics and influencers as one of the top producers in the state and sources grapes from Washington’s most acclaimed vineyards. DeLille recently received its fifth Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines award (2007, 2018, 2020, 2022, and now 2023) and fifth Wine & Spirits Top 100 Winery award (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022). To learn more about DeLille Cellars, visit www.delillecellars.com.
