Direct-To-Consumer Database Start-Up Gets $1.3 Million in Funding,

“The wine industry today is similar to what I saw in the specialty retail catalog industry 30 years ago,” said Pat Connolly, Vintners’ Alliance’s co-founder.

COMPANY NEWS RELEASE,  September 6, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO —  Vintners’ Alliance, a marketing technology and database provider for super-premium wineries said it has received $1.3 Million Series A round of funding, led by Kohlberg Ventures A group of veteran Silicon Valley angel investors also participated.

Vintners’ Alliance offers collaborative database technology that enables wineries to more effectively sell directly to consumers, particularly through ecommerce techniques. This creates a direct  connection to the winery that enhances the ability for consumers to find the best, most relevant offerings for their specific preferences.

Vintners’ Alliance analyzes customer purchase data in order to help wineries identify purchase patterns, preferences, and optimal pricing, so that the winery can customize offers to its customers. Though collaborative databases are often used by specialty retailers, Vintners’ Alliance is a ground breaking solution for the wine industry.

“Many companies have tried to enter the wine industry by inserting themselves between the vintners and consumers under the guise of improving wine retailing, but they end up creating an unnecessary layer between the two,” said Ahin Thomas, co-founder and President of Vintners’ Alliance. “Vintners’ Alliance connects producers directly to consumers, creating better margins for our winery partners, and more efficient, relevant offers for the consumer.”

WINE INDUSTRY 30 YEARS BEHIND

“The wine industry today is similar to what I saw in the specialty retail catalog industry 30 years ago,” said Pat Connolly, Vintners’ Alliance’s co-founder. “Wine making is a multi-billion dollar industry that simply hasn’t embraced e-commerce and modern marketing practices. Everyone loves wine, but finding the right wine at the right time and price is extremely difficult.

“Vintners’ Alliance was founded to bring to the premium wine industry the leading edge direct  marketing and e-commerce practices previously available only to the most sophisticated companies to  solve these problems within this specialized, highly regulated industry,” he said. “Our goal is to apply  these practices in a true partnership with our winery clients, a partnership that increases their  marketing know-how while profitably building their direct businesses and valuable customer lists.”

In addition to Connolly’s role as co-founder & chairman of Vintners’ Alliance, he also serves as EVP & CMO of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. where he has spent the last 32 years focusing on the company’s direct marketing and e-commerce strategies. He serves on the board of directors for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. and CafePress, Inc.

WINERIES EXPRESS ENTHUSIASM

“Vintners’ Alliance’s technology and services has enhanced our ability to engage our customers across a variety of channels and grow our business,” said Doug Rogers, COO at Cameron Hughes Wine.

“The wine industry has generally lagged behind the curve when it comes to e-commerce and marketing: SEM, customer segmentation, and communication personalization are relatively foreign concepts. The capabilities that Vintners’ Alliance enables for wineries allows the industry to take a huge leap toward  modernization,” said Steve Tamburelli, General Manager of Chappellet Winery.

KEY EXECUTIVES

Vintners’ Alliance was co-founded by Connolly and Thomas in 2009 with the mission to transform the way wineries connect with their consumers through proven, direct to consumer tools and technology to the wine industry. The company has assembled a board of some of Silicon Valley’s most successful technology and marketing veterans in its efforts to bring best-of-breed services into the wine industry:

• Jorge del Calvo (Pillsbury Law) serves as the lead in navigating the complex regulatory environment that VA faces in operating within the wine industry. Since 2000, Jorge has led the nation in representing issues in complete technology IPOs.
• John Eastburn (Kohlberg Ventures) serves as the lead in advisor for startup operations.
• Thampy Thomas (Angel Investor) serves as the primary systems and technology experts. As  co-founder of Nexgen Microsystems, Thampy led the development of the first competitive alternative to Intel’s Pentium Processors.

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