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34 WINES&VINES September 2018 DISTRIBUTOR MARKET 2018 Johnson Brothers Liquor Company Headquarters: St. Paul, Minn. States served: 22 Offices: 36 U.S. wineries represented: 401 CEO: Michael Johnson Johnson Brothers Liquor Co. is a family-owned wine, spirits and beer distributor, based in St. Paul, Minn. In 2017, the company expanded its market reach to New York and West Virginia and is currently shipping in 22 states. In March 2018, the company announced it had signed an agreement to acquire Mutual Dis- tributing of North Carolina, which, according to the announcement, has 700 employees and seven branches throughout the state. The acquisition will include accounts with Constellation, Trin- chero, Banfi, Zonin, Foley Family Wines, Terlato and Heineken as well as local breweries. In addition to distribution, Johnson Broth- ers provides sales consulting services that in- clude shelf configuration, wine list consulting, staff training, tasting events and helping clients with their product mix. The company is also celebrating its 65th year in business in 2018. Winebow Group Headquarters: Glen Allen, Va. States served: 22 Offices: 21 U.S. wineries represented: 598 President and CEO: Dean Ferrell Making a big jump from last year's No. 10 posi- tion to No. 6 this year is the Winebow Group. In June of 2017, Winebow expanded its distribu- tion network into Rhode Island. Then, in Janu- ary 2018, the national importer and distributor announced its expansion into Oregon, increas- ing its total footprint to 22 states. With the ad- dition of Oregon, Winebow now covers the entire West Coast, with Noble Wines in Wash- ington and The Henry Group in California. Winebow is operating a new Portland, Ore., warehouse managed by Toni Ketrenos. Kathy Byrd is the company's vice president and general manager of Noble Wines and Erle Martin is now executive vice president of wholesale west. Also in January 2018, The Henry Wine Group, partnered with Hahn Family Wines, producer of luxury and super-premium wines from California's Santa Lucia Highlands, Mon- terey County and Central Coast. As of Febru- ary 2018, Henry Wine Group has exclusive distribution rights for Hahn, Hahn SLH, Luci- enne, Smith & Hook and Boneshaker labels. Empire Distributors Headquarters: Atlanta, Ga. States Served: 4 Offices: 13 U.S. wineries represented: 586 President and CEO: David Kahn New to the Top 10 Distributor's list is Empire Distributors, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. The company represents 586 wineries across four states and also distributes spirits, beer and non-alcoholic beverages. According to Wines Vines Analytics, in June 2018, Empire Distributors acquired Noble Se- lection (formerly Volio Vino) in Colorado. With that acquisition, the company increased its footprint from three to four states. Empire representatives would not verify or comment on any acquisitions or provide any additional information on the company's background or business practices. According to Emire's website, the company employs more than 1,500 employees across four states: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Colorado. 5 6 7 Michael Johnson Dean Ferrell David Kahn MAJOR U.S. WINE DISTRIBUTORS States Served Offices Headquarters Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits 45 123 Miami, Fla. Republic National Distributing Co. (RNDC) 23 46 Grand, Prairie, Texas Breakthru Beverage Group 16 37 New York, N.Y. Young's Market Co. 11 56 Tustin, Calif. Johnson Brothers Liquor Company 22 36 St. Paul, Minn. Winebow Group 22 21 Glen Allen, Va. Source: Wines Vines Analytics.